The Mortician's Son
by Corrosive Moon
Summary: In the old mansion, there is a mortician's son who works tirelessly in his endless search for corpses. For mochiusagi. Mostly RikuSora with trace bits of other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**For mochiusagi. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed making it! Thank you so much for being a fan of my work (whether they're God-awful or brilliant)!**

**:-D YOU'RE AWESOME! I hope you'll continue to my fan. *bows* ^_^  
**

**Along with **_**I Like a Boy in Uniform**_**, I am now looking after three stories again. Let's hope they stay that way… Ha ha ha… I'm such a lame-o. -_- But I wanted a couple things that aren't so dark, because **_**The Devil Has Silver Hair**_** is very, very hard on me, imaginatively-wise. These two stories (**_**The Mortician's Son **_**and **_**I Like a Boy in Uniform**_**) are intended to be light-hearted and fun to counter-measure **_**The Devil Has Silver Hair.**_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS.**

* * *

_The Mortician's Son_

_Chapter 1: The Devoted Corpse-Seeker_

"Shit," Riku cursed lowly. He ran a hand through his silver hair as he stared down the door in front of him. To his left was a broken window. About three minutes ago, Riku was idly playing blitzball with his friends, Axel, Tidus, Wakka, Roxas, and Demyx. Then, Tidus showed off his _Super-Awesome, Comin'-At-Ya Starlight Kick _(obviously named by Tidus, himself) and the eighteen-year-old had managed to block it from the goal at the expense of a poor window of a mansion several yards away. Being the one who broke the window in the first place, Riku honorably—and reluctantly—walked up to the doorway to confess his crime, plead for mercy, offer to pay for the window and hopefully return with the blitzball as soon as possible.

"Excuse me!" Riku called. "Our—" The silver-haired teenager made sure to least include his friends on the blame, "—blitzball crashed through your window! I'm real sorry about that!"

Riku looked over his shoulder, where his friends were waiting anxiously by the rickety, rusted gates. Half-hoping that Riku would get their ball back and half-waiting for something horrible to happen to him. The eighteen-year-old wouldn't blame them. The mansion wasn't too decrepit, the windows were opaque with dust and the curtains were drawn shut, the garden in front of the house was unkempt and dying, and the stone wall which surrounded the mansion had graffiti and cracks in it. Riku had also curiously peered inside through the broken window.

The only sign of inhabitance in this house was the lone light on the second floor.

"I don't think anyone's home," Riku said to Axel.

"But the light's on," the redhead pointed out. "Someone should be home."

"Yeah, but don't you think they'd answer by now?" The silver-haired teenager said.

"Maybe you should just go in and get it, Riku," their blonde, mullet-mohawked friend, Demyx suggested.

"But wouldn't that be breaking and entering?" Roxas, a petite blonde with a lopsided hairstyle, said.

"Maybe they just left the light on, yeah?" Wakka said. "You know, to make thieves think they're home. My parents do that all the time when we go out."

"Your parents are paranoid, Wakka," Tidus teased.

"Say what you want, Tidus!"

Meanwhile, Riku knocked on the door again. "Hel-lo! Anyone home?" he called.

The silver-haired teenager listened to see if anyone was coming.

Nothing.

"Just go get it, Riku!" Axel said. "I mean, the inhabitants are probably just sadistic psychos who'll probably gas you, cut you up and make a windchime out of your genitals."

Riku turned over his shoulder and shot him a heated look. "Thanks, Ax," he said sarcastically. The silver-haired teenager wanted to turn back, but the blitzball was the most treasured keepsake of Tidus' father, Jecht, who would _freak_ if he found out what happened to his beloved ball. No, he wouldn't freak, he would probably hit all of six of them (including his own son) with his car, back up on their bodies to make sure they were dead and then set their corpses aflame with alcohol and a match. There was no doubt about it.

The eighteen-year-old shuddered and, fueled by his fear of a far more violent death at the hands of his friend's father, placed his hand on the knob.

The doorknob turned easily and Riku casted a final glance at his friends before stepping inside. He had now stepped into a large room, with a large sort of case in the middle of it. There were doors on either side of a room, which gave way to a long window with a view of the backyard, and wide staircase that lead to the second story. The floor was only seldom littered with debris and there seemed to be dust everywhere, but the deterioration wasn't too bad.

"Excuse me!" The silver-haired teenager called, his voice echoing through the mansion. "Sorry for intruding, but I really need to get our ball back!" He crossed the room, looking for the lost object. It was nowhere to be seen. Occasionally, Riku paused in his search to hear for any noises that gave away the mansion's inhabitants. (Assuming it _had _inhabitants.) Riku looked to the open door on his right. Perhaps the blitzball went in there.

The eighteen-year-old cautiously peered inside before physically walking in. A small, low table was there. The floor was chipped, the wallpaper in tatters, and the walls were dirty like the rest of the house. There, in the corner, was the ball.

Sighing with relief, Riku walked into the room and bent down to pick it up.

He didn't notice the pair of eyes watching him from underneath the table, but he _did, _however, hear a distinct _creak._

"Hello?" Riku turned around and tried to pinpoint where the sound came from. "Is anyone there?"

A pale hand edged out from underneath the table, and the silver-haired teenager felt fear rock down his spine and paralyze his kneecaps. Wide-eyed, he stared as an arm followed after the hand, slithering along the floor. Another hand and arm inched out from the table and Riku's heart leaped to his chest.

'Run!' he told his legs, but they would not move. 'Run, run—_Oh God_!'

The fingers clawed into the floor and, in jerky movements, a chocolate-brown tuff of hair slide out from under the table.

…And then the head...

…and then the neck...

...and then the body, cladded in a dirty, black sweatshirt...

… and then finally the legs snaked out, wearing denim jeans…

Riku could not even muster the energy to scream as he continued to watch the creature crawl closer to him. The thing lifted its head, showing a fairly human, boyish face with sunken, blue eyes and rasped with a voice as if it's vocal cords were sandpaper, "…You…"

It continued to move towards Riku with its shaky, erratic, dreadful movements, its stomach dragging along the floor. The eighteen-year-old's legs crumpled beneath him and he felt his bottom hit the ground, fingers tight over the surface of the blitzball. Riku could not look away.

The thing had finally managed to crawl its way to the silver-haired boy's knees. Riku heard it speak again. "You… you…" It repeated. One of its hands gripped the eighteen-year-old's shirt so hard it its fingers threatened to tear through the fabric. Meanwhile the other clamped onto his arm hard and the creature pulled itself up so that its eyes—which were a surprising, lively blue-were leveled with Riku's.

"You would…" the creature whispered, a smile forming on its gaunt face, "you would make… such… such a _beautiful_… corpse." It's last word blew weakly passed it's slit-like grin and then the thing let Riku go, fell face-first onto the floor and did not move. For a while, the silver-haired teenager gawked at it and then, regaining his wits, decided that it was better to flee now that the thing wasn't moving. Shoving the body off him, Riku bolted out the door and was out within moments.

"Hey, Riku!" Axel's face had a huge grin on it. "Look Shorty, I _told_ you he was alive! And he got the ball back! Good job, Riku!" The redhead glanced back at Riku. His eyes immediately notice his friend's heaving shoulder and pale face. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost or something."

"F-fine," Riku managed to say. "I… It was nothing. Nothing at all." The silver-haired teenager looked over his shoulder and towards the entrance of the mansion, half-expecting the demented brunette to crawl out of doorway, chasing after him.

His five friends exchanged wary looks before shifting their eyes to him.

"Did you see something?" Demyx ventured.

"No. No, I didn't see anything. Must have been—I don't know. No, nothing…" the eighteen-year-old babbled.

"You know I think I have some money on me," Axel said giving a grateful change of subject. "Let's head back into town and buy some ice cream."

"Sure, that sounds great!" Tidus said. "Here, let me get that, Riku." With some difficulty, he pried out the blitzball from Riku's hands.

Wakka placed a hand on his shoulder and steered the shell-shocked teen in the right direction. "You'll be fine with a food in you."

* * *

"So what did you see?" Axel asked as he laid on his back on Riku's bed. They were in his room. Riku was sitting on the floor, watching the TV. Axel pushed himself towards the end of the bed—close to where the silver-haired teenager was-and let his head hang over the edge, eyes focused on his best friend.

"Don't feed me that 'nothing' crap," the redhead waved his left hand, "I _know_ you saw something. You wouldn't be this… jittery if you didn't."

"I'm not entirely sure what I saw…" Riku said. "And anyway as long as I don't see it again, I think I'll be fine."

Axel frowned, and shut his eyes. "I guess so…" he said, sighing.

* * *

'I don't think I'll ever see it again…'

That was what Riku thought as he headed to school that morning, as he was talking to Axel at the lunch table along with his other friends.

That is until he saw a pair of familiar brown hair and royal-blue eyes peering at him in the distance. Riku, who had a straw between his lips and was drinking chocolate milk at the moment, gasped and had a coughing fit (nearly staining his blazer uniform in the process) when he saw it again.

It was sitting at a table at the other end of the lunchroom, staring at him intently. Was it haunting him?

Axel had been sitting in front of Riku and turned his head to see what his friend was looking at.

"The mortician's son?" Axel twisted back to face his best friend again. "Is _that_ who you saw in the mansion?"

Riku nodded, eyes fixated on the dark figure in the distance.

"Well, it's no wonder you seemed so scared out of your wits! God, I thought you saw some sort of walking, bloody hand or something yesterday!" Axel said, sipping some of his strawberry milk out of the carton and looking incredibly relieved. "That kid's pretty creepy. I wouldn't be surprised to catch him at the mansion."

Demyx, who was sitting at Riku's left, dug his elbows into his ribs a little. "I heard that he's _nuts._ He was probably there burying a body or something… or stashing away some of his dad's corpses. Ugh…" The mullet-mohawked blonde shuddered visibly.

"I heard that he's a witch! And he steals the cats from Professor Vexen's dissection freezer to use as sacrifices!" Tidus, who was sitting on Riku's right, added. "I mean, look at him! The light above his head is flickering!"

True enough, the incandescent light above the brunette's figure _was_ flickering, as if he were in some sort of scary movie.

"I'm told the lights _always_ do that when he's around," Tidus continued. "Yuna had a class with him once and she said it was true!"

"Does he have a name?" Riku asked.

"Sora. Sora Leonhart, I think."

"Why haven't I heard about him until now?"

"Well, in case you haven't notice, Riku, he's a bit horrifying," Axel chimed in. "We prefer to ignore him and pretend his doesn't exist for our mental benefit." Roxas giggled.

"I don't think he's so bad," the blonde said. "It's not like he's attacked anyone so far."

"Ah, Roxas. _This_ is why you're gonna be carried off by some pedophile one day," Axel grinned and patted Roxas on the head much like he would pet a puppy. The blonde frowned at him.

Tidus leaned over a little. "He's looking at you pretty intently, Riku. Did you do something to him yesterday?"

It was true. Throughout the conversation, Sora hadn't broken eye contact with eighteen-yeard-old, hadn't even blinked.

"I-I'm not really sure…" Riku said, throat suddenly tight.

The bell rang (Sora still hadn't stop staring at the silver-haired teenager) and Riku and his friends left the lunchroom to head to their classes.

Riku was thankful for the escape. He hesitantly thought back to yesterday's events. He was pretty sure it _was_ Sora who had scared him. Sora, a human. Albeit a creepy human, but a human nonetheless. That put his thoughts at ease. Riku had spent his previous sleeping hours reliving every gorey horror movie he had ever watched and fearing that he had seen a vengeful ghost that would eventually follow him home.

The silver-haired teenager walked to his classroom and sat at his respective desk. He drummed his fingers on the surface as he waited for class to start. A chill ran down his spine and the lights dimmed and sputtered.

'What was that?' he thought as he looked around.

The door opened little by little, and Sora Leonhart stepped in.

Instantly, the classroom went quiet, as if some sinister specter had appeared in the room. Riku's eyes widened with shock. The brunette was staring at him as he quietly crossed the still classroom, the lights blotting out and coming back on as he passed underneath them, until he reached Riku's desk.

"I'm… sorry…" the boy said, speaking unusually clear. "For… yesterday, that is, at the mansion. I shouldn't have… gotten on top of you like that… I know that was really scary… and… I hope that I didn't tear your clothes… You're very pretty… Shame… I'm sorry."

Sora bowed a little, and then he turned and headed out the door, quietly as he came.

The moment the door closed the classroom was alive with talk.

* * *

"YOU AND SORA LEONHART HAD SEX!" Axel shouted at Riku after school, pointing an appalled, accusing finger at his best friend. "SORA LEONHART HAD SEX WITH _YOU!_?"

Around them, other students immediately began gossiping, students who already heard the notorious rumor and students who were now acquainted with the new rumor alike.

The rumor that Sora Leonhart and Riku Yorushi had sex in the mansion yesterday.

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" Riku shouted back, red in the face and frustrated that he had to repeat his story for the umpteenth time that day.

"Then—then what is this I hear about him getting on top you! And him ripping off your clothes and—"

"It was a misunderstanding!" The silver-haired teenager stopped the wrong, mental image before it could surface. "Okay, he did get on top of me, but there were _no_ clothes ripping! Or ripping off! _No_ clothes were harmed in our encounter! _Why_ does everyone think that we—"

"Well, teenagers, clothes ripping, and two individuals alone in a mansion and getting of top of each other kinda hints at something, Riku…"

"And that says a lot about how people perceive teenagers as a collective group…" The eighteen-year-old grumbled.

"So if Sora _didn't_ have sex with you, what were you two doing?" Axel asked with a curious brow raised.

"_Nothing!_ Nothing happened!" Riku let out a frustrated sigh. "I mean. I found our ball, and then he crawled out from under the table, which scared the absolute _shit_ out me, and grabbed onto me for some reason, let go and I ran for it. We didn't have sex!"

"You mean he didn't have sex with you." It wasn't a question, it was correction.

The silver-haired teenager threw his best friend an exasperated look. "Does the wording even matter?"

"Yes, since he supposedly was the one who got on top of you. Unless he was, you know, riding you—"

"Oh God, Ax, _please_ stop." Riku raised both hands defensively.

"All right, all right…" Axel said. "You were the one who asked for the clarification…"

* * *

After school, Riku decided to visit the old mansion again. Once again the second floor light was on and the silver-haired teenager assumed that this was because Sora was inside.

Riku poked his head through door cautiously before proceeding into the mansion.

Sora was on his hands and knees in the middle of the room, his back to the eighteen-year-old and mumbling to himself.

Irking a curious eyebrow, Riku announced his precense.

"Sora!" he called.

The brunette paused momentarily to look over his shoulder at the eighteen-year-old and then shifted his focus back to the floor.

Riku took a loud step forward, testing to see if Sora was going to frighten him away. The brunette looked too engrossed in what he was doing to notice and so the silver-haired teenager slowly moved to where he was.

Now that Riku was up close, he saw that Sora had a crowbar in his hands and wedging it into the tiny space between the floorboards. The brunette had already made some progress in disemboweling the floor as there was already a hole about three feet wide in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Riku asked.

"Looking for corpses," Sora answered without turning to him.

The eighteen-year-old felt his shoulders raise a little with slight revulsion and shock. The brunette continued.

"Look at this place," he said, patting the floorboards affectionately with one hand. "It's so old and decrepit. Someone_ must_ have hid a body here!" A smile cracked his sunken face while his features darkened in a terrifyingly demented way, as if someone had placed a flashlight underneath Sora's chin. Except that the brunette seemed to be accomplishing this effect naturally. And in plain daylight too.

_Scary…_

"Wonderful!" Sora said happily, his demented grin growing. "When I find it, it's going to be so wonderful!" He picked up the pace with renewed gusto. "I can't wait. Can't can't can't wait! I hope it's the body of a brutal murder! Maybe with a mutilated face! Or missing fingers! Or perhaps the murder chopped it up and put in several places!"

Riku fought down the urge to gag during Sora's delightful little monologue. "But wouldn't it smell bad?" he asked. "Since it's a rotting body and all?"

"Nah, a bit of lyme, bleach and air freshener hides the smell well enough," the brunette answered simply.

'_How the hell would he _know_ that!_' The silver-haired teenager thought, his mind reeling.

Riku decided that the conversation needed a dire dose of normality so he changed the subject. "Um, Sora? About what you said at school today—"

"What about it?" Sora wrenched apart another floorboard with the crowbar and stuck his head in. The silver-haired teenager was a little surprised at how the smaller teenager unabashedly put himself in potential danger (after all, God knows what lurked beneath the floorboards) but he continued on.

"It's just that—Well, did you have to say it like that?"

"Like what?" Sora withdrew his head from the hole, a disappointed look on his face. He turned to Riku. "I was only telling the truth," he said to the older teenager. "Or are you frustrated because it sounded like I was having sex with you?"

There was that weird use of diction that implied that Riku was on the bottom in all this, but the silver-haired teenager ignored it. In fact, he was a bit surprised that Sora—being the social recluse as he was—knew the sexual implications of his words.

A silence fell between them. Sora waited to see if Riku was going to say something, but he didn't.

"There's nothing I can do about it now," the brunette said as he wedged the crowbar into another space between the floorboards. "You'll just have to explain everything to anyone that comes and asks you about it."

"Shouldn't _you_ be the one explaining? You were the one that said it like that."

"Do you really think that people will be coming up to _me_ for clarification?"

"Good point." Riku thought of something else to say. "Hey, Sora?"

"Uh-huh?"

"So you… hang around this mansion looking for dead bodies?"

"Yup."

"So yesterday, you were…" The silver-haired teenager trialed off to let him finish.

"I was waiting underneath the table to see if a killer would come by and stash his bodies," Sora said. He set aside the crowbar, crammed his fingers on either side of a loose floorboard and with a grunt pulled it free, nearly toppling back as he did so. "I'd been waiting under there for three days."

"_Three days!" _Riku repeated, alarmed.

"Yeah. I didn't want to move around too much or it'd give my presence away. So I stayed there."

"What about the bathroom?"

"I didn't eat or drink."

'OH MY GOD…' the silver-haired teenager thought to himself, mind-boggled over how much effort Sora put into scavenging. "You really go all out on this body search thing, don't you?"

"It's my passion."

The silver-haired teenager dug his heel into the floor and turned his leg inward and outward. "Isn't that kind of depressing? To be focusing on death all the time?"

"No," Sora said simply. "Don't you have homework to do?"

"You have homework too, don't you?"

"I finished it."

Riku figured that there really wasn't anything else to say and it was time for him to head home. "I guess I'll be going, then."

Sora raised his head. "Actually, can you… stay here?" His brilliant blue eyes locked onto his own and suddenly his face seemed very human. "I… I'm sure I can... help you out with something that you don't understand. Not that I'm calling you stupid or anything, but in case you need help, you're welcome to stay and do your homework here."

"Sure," Riku said, sliding his backpack's strap off his shoulder. "I don't mind."

The corner's of the brunette's mouth turned upwards into a surprising smile sweet enough to melt a glacier. And for that one moment, Riku understood that Sora was just a simple, misunderstood, lonely person, who—

Sora's face became terrifying, "The killers like pretty people. If you stay, I'm sure someone'll come and I'll get to see them kill you." Sora turned back to his work, continuing with newfound vigor complete with a disturbing laugh.

Nevermind. He was wrong. Sora was strange. Strange, strange, strange.

* * *

**I won't lie. I have been reading **_**The Wallflower**_** manga, which is where I came up for the inspiration for this story. Ha ha ha… I'm such a cheat… I'm so shameless. I totally went all out on the comedy aspect. .  
**

**I PROMISE I WON'T TAKE THESE DOWN! I PROMISE! REALLY!**

**Seriously, I won't take these down. This fic is intended as a present and therefore will live!**

**I do feel bad for taking down two of my stories, but honestly, once I label something as a failure, I can't stand the knowledge that it's out there, being a horrible testament to my flaws… I DETEST THAT. THEREFORE IT HAS TO DIE.**

**Okay, now about the story: I love Sora's little weird power to do creepy things like make scary faces or make the lights go out or send a chill in the air when he walks by. I think it's awesome. :)  
**

**Well, please review! Let's so see how this story goes! **

**-See you next chapter!**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	2. Chapter 2

** AUTHOR'S NOTE: I MADE A MISTAKE! **

**Yeah, I did. Sora's last name isn't 'Hikari' in this fic. It's 'Leonhart.' Sorry! Sorry! I'm so terrible! T.T I fixed my mistake in my last chapter.**

**Well, as you may now figure out, Sora's dad is Leon. So here's another warning! Leon OOCness! Major OOCness!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS.**

* * *

_Chapter 2: Welcome to the World of Darkness! _

"Hey, freak!" Seifer grabbed Sora's shoulder and threw him back. With a light grunt, the brunette crashed into Rai, whose body felt more like a solid wall.

Seifer turned to face him. "Heard you play for the other team," he gave a short laugh. "And just when I thought that you when you couldn't be any weirder!"

"Outlandish," Fuu said in her detached way as she walked to Seifer's side and completing the trap circle they had caught Sora in.

Attempting to be the adult out of the four of them, the brunette tried to weave out, but Rai grabbed his arm and held him still.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Seifer sneered, shoving Sora's shoulder hard. "Got something to say, fag?" Behind him, Rai shoved the brunette forward, nearly toppling him over.

"Yes," Sora said, regaining his balance and civilly dusting himself off. "I find it strange that you did not bother me before now, which leads me to believe that you thoroughly dislike the thought of me being homosexual. Humans have a tendency to hate what they fear. I wonder, Seifer, are you homophobic?" Sora tilted his head to one said, eyeing the taller teenager carefully.

"Me? Scared of _you_?" Seifer scoffed. "As if!" He moved to shove the brunette to the lockers, but Sora grabbed his wrist and stopped him with surprising, frightening strength.

"You misunderstood me. Let me rephrase the question to something more… simpler: Are you scared of a little man-on-man action, Seifer?"

"What? N-no!" Despite that, a telltale blush was tinting Seifer's cheeks.

"Oh, good," the brunette said, throwing back the taller teenager's arm. "Then you won't mind if I go on to tell you that two days ago in the mansion I was completely fucking Riku Yorushi through the floor." His voice was even as he stepped closer, and delicious contentment rested in his chest when he saw Seifer back away. "We were writhing with hot, steamy pleasure, lost in our own luscious world. Everything was hot and tight inside him." Sora leaned his head farther to the side with interest as he watched the upperclassman's face grow redder and redder, his eyes becoming wider and wider with each passing word.

The brunette took another step forward and Seifer took another step back. "And, right when it got so good, I came so hard up his ass he—"

It all became too much for Seifer and Rai, who simultaneously vomited on the floor, meanwhile, Fuu spouted a fountain of a nosebleed and uselessly tried to cover it up with her sleeve.

Shamed and mortified, the three raced down the hallway and disappeared into their gender-respective bathrooms. As soon as the doors closed, the bystanders were immediately chattering loudly as they scattered for their next class. Sora straightened his uniform and then continued walking to his classroom as if nothing strange had happened. He eyed the puddle of blood (from Fuu's nosebleed) with interest and crouched down next to it. The brunette reached into the pocket of his blazer, pulled out a small glass vial with a large cottonball and forceps inside it. Gloving his hands quickly, Sora unscrewed the vial and, taking the forceps, he dabbed the cottonball in the puddle. The brunette placed the forceps and cottonball into the vail, replaced the top, peeled off the gloves and swiftly scurried away, a crowd of students parting aside as he walked by.

* * *

Needless to say, Riku was not in the best of moods as he stormed into the mansion. He gave a quick look around and—seeing no one—eyed the now five-foot hole in the floor. He stopped right in front of the hole and leaned over a little.

"Would you mind telling _why_ there is now a play-by-play sequence of what _did not happen_ two days ago?" he asked angrily.

Sora's head rose from the hole. He wore a yellow hardhat with a flashlight. He looked up at Riku, the bright beam shining right into the silver-haired teenager's eyes.

"Yes," the brunette answered, "I do mind." Like a sharkfin in the night ocean, the hardhat sank into the darkness again.

Riku crossed his arms. "Well, Roxas saw the entire thing between you and Seifer's gang—" he said.

"Then why did you want me to answer—" Sora began, but the silver-haired teenager continued.

"—and he came to my classroom, shouting it as he walked in and you couldn't _believe_ how big everyone's eyes got when they heard that you and I—" Riku blushed furiously. "Ugh! Wherein the world did you learn that sort of language anyway?"

"I'm strange. Not deaf," Sora responded underneath him. "And you'd be surprised what the people in the biology room say when they think no one's there." Riku raised a curious brow.

"Seifer is actually overreacted quite a bit to my story," the brunette said. "I didn't even go into deep detail before I made him vomit. Hee Hee…" The eighteen-year-old could see Sora's demented smile clearly in his head. The younger continued, "This 'play-by-play sequence' you have heard of is an exaggeration."

"Regardless of whether it's an exaggeration or not, it's still circulating through the school," Riku said. "And everyone thinks I'm some sort of—some sort of… I don't even want to think about it!"

Something clattered underneath the floor and the silver-haired teenager looked to the direction of the noise.

"I am sorry that things ended the way they did," Sora started. "Do you want me to fix it?"

"_Can_ you even fix it?"

"I can." He said it with such confidence.

"Can you really?" Riku crouched, looking down at the hole and watching the brunette's light wave across the darkness.

"Mm-hm."

"Look Sora, unless you can find some way to make everyone forget about—"

Suddenly something went _bump-bump-crash!_ underneath Riku, followed by a lowly muttered curse word. The eighteen-year-old walked to the source of the noise, anger forgotten. "Sora?" he said loudly to the floor. "Hey, are you all right?"

"My light died..." The brunette responded from below. More noises were heard as Sora made his way to the hole and lifted himself out. "I'll need to get some batteries from my house."

"Your… house…?" Riku echoed uneasily.

"Mm-hm. I'll be back. You can stay here." A manic grin spread on Sora's face and his eyes sparkled maliciously.

Riku knew exactly what he was thinking: Him. Alone. In a creepy mansion.

The eighteen-year-old had seen enough horror movies to know the dominating stereotype (and survival rate) about pretty peoples in old mansions.

"No, I think I'll come with you," he said, packing his books up quickly.

The creepy look gave way to a rather human pout. "Fine," he said. "My house isn't too far."

* * *

Riku looked to his left, to a nice pink house with a white picket fence, a colorful rose garden and a mosaic walkway to the front door. A golden retriever was bounding in the lush, green yard and poked its head over the white fence, sniffing. _Marshmallow_, its tag read.

Then Riku looked to his right, to a light-blue house with an island made of small white stones, complete with a tiny palm tree, set in the middle of the lawn.

Then the eighteen-year-old faced forward. In front of him was a splintery, darkwood, two-story house surrounded by a crooked black iron gate. A large sign that read, '_Leonhart Mortician Services'_ was planted in the barren, brown yard. The cement was cracked and there were little tuffs of grass poking in between the splits. As he followed Sora to the front door, the house leered menacingly over them, its windows gleaming down at him like eyes. Riku had an uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

The silver-haired teenager really wasn't surprised by how Sora's house looked. Really, he wasn't. Given Sora's personality, it was only natural that his house looked like this. In fact, Riku even felt some sort of twisted little hilarity about the residence/office, as it was ridiculously out-of-place in such a nice, sunny neighborhood. That, and a stabbing uneasiness in his gut because he could have _sworn_ he saw a house like this in a slasher movie he saw once.

'People get _killed_ in houses like these…' The eighteen-year-old could not stop himself from thinking.

Sora knocked on the door as he entered, a squeaky, low moan emitted from the doorway as the brunette swung it open. "Dad, I'm home!" he called out. The noise seemed to echo around them.

The inside was unexpectedly clean. There was a wooden coffeetable near the door draped in a thick crimson cloth. Oval, misty lamps hung from curly irons fixtures on the wall. Other than that, the walls were bare. In front of him, Riku saw a flight of stairs leading to the second story.

"You can wait in the living room," Sora said, pointing to the area as he climbed the staircase. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Sure," Riku said, heading to the indicated direction. The living room was simple, with a three-seat couch, a recliner, a table and a large TV screen in a wooden stand. The stand had cupboards of glass, showing a DVD player and a VCR.

It was small for a living room, Riku realized. And the house looked so much bigger from the outside. Size aside, though, it was quite normal. The silver-haired teenager sat on couch and waited. There were three remotes (one for the TV, one for the VCR and one for the DVD player) arranged perfectly parallel on the table, and Riku wondered if it would be polite to watch TV while he waited. Deciding against it a moment later, the eighteen-year-old sank back into the couch.

_Thud!_

Riku sat up immediately when he heard the noise. "Sora?" he called.

_Thump-thump! THUD! Clat-clat._

The silver-haired teenager was on his feet, looking about nervously.

"Sora, is that you?"

_Tap tap tap._ It sounded like someone was tapping their fingernails on wood.

"Sora, this isn't funny! Cut it out!" Following his ears, Riku found that the sound was coming from the walls.

_tap tap tap taptaptaptap_— The tempo increased.

Riku placed his ear to the wall to make sure that was where the sound was before he banged his fist on the spot.

To his surprise, the wall easily swung away—like the revolving doors in fancy hotels—and he nearly fell forward. Regaining his balance, the silver-haired teenager saw that he had stumbled upon a passageway. Dim lamps were dangling from the ceiling, illuminating the path. The hall was empty.

'But that can't be right…' Riku thought to himself. 'There had to be someone here. Someone had to have made that noise earlier.' He was entirely astonished that Sora would have a secret room or two in his house. In fact, Riku sort of anticipated it. After all, almost _all_ the houses in horror movies had _some _sort of secret hallway or hidden door.

"Hello?" he called. "Sora?"

In a flash, a body descended from above and the silver-haired teenager found himself face-to-face with another man, his features locked in an expression of pure agony, blood—glimmering even in the faint light—oozing from his mouth and dribbling down his face. His long, disheveled, pink hair was flecked with dirt. A rope was fastened around his neck, and Riku realize that the man was hanging from the ceiling from a sort of noose. But his eyes! It was his eyes that terrified the eighteen-year-old the most. They were hollow, dark and _staring right at him_. Looking looking looking!

Crying out and clutching a hand over his racing heart, Riku stumbled backwards. His head hit something hard and then everything went dark.

* * *

His head hurt, Riku noted that fact first. But before he could contemplate _why_ his head was hurting he realized that it was hard to breathe, too. There was something heavy on him. That was why. The silver-haired teenager shifted, hoping that whatever it was would slid off him, but it didn't. Irritated, Riku opened his eyes.

Blue. Royal blue.

Oh. It was Sora. Sora was sitting on him. That's why it was difficult to breath. The brunette had that scary grin on his face like always.

But why was the brunette sitting on him?

Wait—why was he smiling? Sora smiling was never exactly a good thing…

Something gleamed in the corner of his vision. The brunette was clutching a knife in his hand.

"What-_what the hell!_?" Riku shouted at him, half-sitting up.

Sora clicked his tongue disappointedly. "I was so close." The brunette unhappily swung one leg over one side of Riku and scooted away. Expertly, he spun the knife around his thumb, brooding.

Riku felt a chill run down his spine and he knew someone else was behind him. He turned around.

A man with shoulder-length hair the same shade as Sora's was sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring at him. Unlike Sora's hair, which was messy and spiked, this man's hair was straight, smooth and turned outwards a little. His elbows were on his thighs and he was bent over a little bit. His eyes were an unusual steely gray and his mouth was stern, making his expression cool and collected.

After gazing at Riku for a few more moments, the man's face broke into an atypical smile. "Sorry, about the scare," he said. He jerked his thumb towards the still-open revolving wallpiece behind him. "You see, Sora hardly ever invites anyone else into our home, and it's quite disadvantageous of me to scare customers so…" and his face darkened just like Sora's, with that eerie resemblance to having a flashlight shining underneath his chin, "I couldn't resist!" His head bowed down and his shoulders rocked with laughter. "Hee hee hee hee hee!You were so amusing!"

Riku glared at him. Swinging feebly behind Leon was the body that had terrified him earlier. The silver-haired teenager jumped and scrambled backwards a little. Leon looked over his shoulder, figuring what Riku was looking at.

"Ah, do you like my little Pomegranate?" he asked, turning his face to the eighteen-year-old.

"I-is…" Riku choked out, "is that a r-r-real—"

"Oh dear me, no," Leon stood up and walked to the body, his movements so smooth he appeared to be gliding across the floor. "Pomy is just a dummy I've made." Smiling, the mortician ran a finger tenderly down Pomegranate's face, as if he were caressing a lover. "I can't have _real_ bodies, because that would be a crime…If I was discovered, that is…" Leon added. "But they are... _based_ on real bodies. This one was a customer I had a few weeks ago. I thought he had such a beautiful shade of hair and such nice cheekbones."

"And you… decided to…"

"…to warp his face in suffering, bloody him up and hang him from a noose? Yes!" Leon hugged the body tightly, as if it were some overstuffed teddy bear. "I have more, you know. Ah, speaking of which, Sora have you taken Blueberry and Applepie?**[1] **They're missing again."

"Yes," Sora answered happily. "They're in my room."

The mortician turned to Riku and he sighed happily. "You are also very beautiful," he said. "Your hair is lovely. And your skin is so white! I must make a dummy of you, too!"

"No, really, _please._ You don't have to do that…" Riku began, shaking his head a little and not entirely overexcited about the idea.

"But I _must_," Leon insisted, grinning. "You would make an exquisite corpse."

Sora leaned towards his father, the grin on his own younger face identical to his father's. "I said that, too…"

Riku had read once in his psychology class that insanity was hereditary, but he never really started to believe it until he met Sora's family.**[2]** The silver-haired teenager rubbed the back of his head gingerly, remembering that it was aching. Recalling what happened, he figured that he must have hit his head on the revolving door when he fell backwards.

Leon moved silently towards him. "I do apologize for the fright," he said, though a dark, evil smirk crept on his face once more, and he looked as if he were about to laugh again. "As a token of my appreciation, please stay overnight!"

An ominous, shadowy grin crossed Sora's features and his eyes seemed to glow with anticipation.

"No, I think I'll decline. I don't want to intrude," Riku said.

Sora's and Leon's face fell immediately into twin pouts. Sora looked away, twirling the knife around his thumb faster than ever. Leon made a disappointed hum. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be keeping you any longer... Good bye!" The mortician moved smoothly to the secret passageway soundlessly. "Oh, and Sora, good luck on your corpse search!"

"Thanks, Dad!" Sora said just before the revolving wall swung shut and Leon was out of sight.

* * *

"So, does your house have any more secret rooms and doors?" Riku asked as he followed Sora back to the mansion.

"Mm-hm. Loads," the brunette responded, shoving the two batteries into the hardhat's light and testing it. "Dad runs an office, so obviously part of our house must be presentable. You must have noticed how tiny the living room is."

Riku nodded. "What… uh… what exactly… I mean, what _are_ in those secret rooms…?" Though he sort of dreaded the answer, the silver-haired teenager could not stifle his curiosity.

Sora looked at him. "Hmmm?" he murmured, tilted his head to one side. "Well, Dad likes to hang his dummies from the ceiling in one room. The hidden hallway in the living room you found leads to that. In the basement we have the bloody room. In the basement below that we have our weapons storage. In the basement below _that_ Dad keeps his red wine—I _think_. In the backroom Dad does his mortician work. The room on the west is my own secret room. In the east room we kill people, in the north room we torture them and in the south room we worship the devil!" The brunette skipped ahead, humming a merry tune to himself. It sounded like _Ring Around the Rosy_.

Riku meanwhile had stopped in his tracks, watching the cheerful mortician's son with wide eyes and unsure whether to believe him or not.

* * *

Even though the Twilight Town High required the teachers to be there by at 7:45 AM at the latest, Lexaeus Darton arrived at 7:57 AM that Friday morning. He got out of his car, covering a yawn in one hand and holding his daily Café Vanilla Frapuccino from Starbucks in the other. Pocketing his keys, he made his way to the west entrance, which was the closest entrance to the teacher's parking lot.

Right at 8:00 AM, when Lexaeus' fingers barely gripped the handle, and just three minutes after he got out of his car, it happened.

One by one, in a neat little sequence, five cars of the first row went up in flames. Even though it happened all so very fast, Lexaeus was still able to tell which cars exploded.

_**BOOM! **_Principal Ansem Chie's biege Mercedes.

_**BOOM!**_ Mr. Xigbar Morino's yellow Camero.

_**BOOM!**_ Mr. Xemnas Tanner's black Porche.

_**BOOM! **_Mr. Saix Isa's silver Honda.

And next… Lexaeus' eyes widened as he saw the next car in line.

'Oh God, _no!_' he thought desperately. 'Not my sweet, precious baby—'

_**BOOM!**_His own white BMW was consumed by a fireball, the car jolted upwards and tipped over. Blackened by the flames and parts falling everywhere, it was nearly unrecognizable. Lexaeus was so stunned he could only stand there as a crowd of teachers and students sprinted passed him to see the incident. Other teachers were shaking him, but he didn't even hear the questions they were asking him.

The explosions at the teacher's parking lot were the talk of the school. The source of the blasts had not been found. No evidence of bombs or any arson was uncovered. Luckily, at least, no one was hurt, many of the teachers had insurance to cover the damage and some of the cars were salvable. Best of all, though, no one had pestered Riku about the rumor about him and Sora. If he was really lucky, everyone would be occupied with the rumor for the next week or so.

'Wait a second…' the eighteen-year-old thought.

"_Do you want me to fix it?"_

'When he said that…'

"_I can."_

'…did he mean…?'

The silver-haired teenager's eyes bulged. Amidst his surprise, fear, reverence and amazement, Riku's thoughts boiled down to two simple sentences:

_You should all fear Sora Leonhart. Sora Leonhart rules the universe._**[3]**

* * *

**[1]**"…have you taken Blueberry and Applepie?" **Zexion is "Blueberry" and Demyx is "Applepie." I know it might have made more sense to name Demyx "Blueberry cuz of that little water power of his, but I thought "Applepie" would make him seem cuter. Oh yeah, and for those who haven't noticed, I'm weakly attempting to draw parallels between the normal houses flanking the Leonhart residence (weakly.) Example A: white picket fence verses twisted iron fence. Example B: lush, green lawn versus barren lawn. Example C: Golden retriever named after a food versus Leon's dummies named after food. I think that's about all my parallels…. **

**[2] **Riku had read once in his psychology class that insanity was hereditary, but he never really started to believe it until he met Sora's family.**Yes, I do realize that there it isn't only genetics that influences insanity. There**_** is**_** an environmental factor. I took psychology once so I'm not being intentionally ignorant. But I just really wanted to use this line because Hiro Nakano says it in **_**Gravitation**_**. Gravitation! I love gravitation!**

**[3]**_You should all fear Sora Leonhart. Sora Leonhart rules the universe._** It's a line thought by Tatsuya Uesugi from **_**Gravitation Remix.**_** / I forgot which one though. It's the one with the TatsuyaxRyuichi pairing, if that helps. I… I **_**think**_** it's Remix 3.**

**Yeah, Marluxia is in here, as one of Leon's creepy fake bodies. Ha ha ha. Yeah, last fic I made him into a flaming homosexual, this fic I turned him into a dummy. :)**

**I really didn't like using the word 'fag' in this fanfiction. It made me really uncomfortable, and I'm sorry if it made other people uncomfortable too. But I felt that it would make Seifer seem more of a bastard. It felt sweeter when Sora totally PWND him, right? I hope so.**

**No, Sora isn't _that gay_ (in this chapter.) I'm referring to the words he used to make Seifer vomit. He just knew that saying that stuff would make Seifer do that.**

**So much OOCness in Leon! I hope none of the Leon fans hunt me down! I hope I didn't make Leon sound gay. You know, like how I wrote he moves across the floor while as if he were gliding. Not trying to make him gay. Leon's movements are smooth and quiet, traits killers would have. No, Leon isn't a killer, but he certainly acts like one, doesn't he? :-P**

**_Some _of what Sora said about his house is true. Just some. ;) **

**_|Corrosive Moon|_  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**I like updating this story when I update **_**I Like A Boy In Uniform**_** because these two were created together and therefore they shall be updated together as well! For those who haven't looked at **_**I Like A Boy In Uniform**_**, please check it out! (Yes, this is a shameless plug.)**

**Yeah, the rating went down. Sorry everyone, but I didn't have the foggiest clue as to how to input detailed sexiness into this fic. I really didn't want to do this because my T-rated fictions have a tendency to get less reviews (and I'm such a review whore, I'll admit it…), but I'd rather not get you people's hopes up that M-rated sexiness is going to happen when I haven't the **_**foggiest**_** clue on how to input it into this story…. If I figure it out, the rating'll go back up again, but in the meantime… **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS**

* * *

_Chapter 3: Obsession with Death Does Not Equal Intelligence_

Riku sat crossed-legged on the floor, watching the five-foot hole Sora had disappeared through minutes before. He did not exactly know _why_ he was back here in the mansion with the mortician's son again. The silver-haired teenager figured it was some sense of curiosity. Sora was unlike anyone he had ever met before. Or maybe it was because he wanted to see if the brunette was going to perform more magic, because by now Riku was more than convinced that Sora was a witch, or at least had _some _form of powers.

The eighteen-year-old twirled his pencil around his index finger before he spoke.

"Did you lock Kairi Nakano in the vending machine outside the cafeteria?" he asked, recalling the dramatic scene that ensued during the lunch hour when the girl was discovered, frantically screaming her lungs out and banging on the glass as hard as she could.

Sora's head rose from the hole. He was wearing a yellow hardhat again. Though the silver-haired teenager couldn't see it from where he was sitting, there was also a black light in Sora's hands. To detect blood, the brunette explained.

"Yes," Sora answered and disappeared into the darkness once again.

"How did you do it?"

"Can't tell you. It's a secret secret secrety-secret." There was a sound of footsteps moving away from the hole. The brunette's footsteps.

* * *

"_He's a witch!" Kairi Nakano had screamed at the bystanders once the janitor had opened the door and freed her. "That freak's a witch, I tell you! One minute I was talking to him and the next minute I was in here!"_

* * *

"Why did you do it?" Riku asked, following the noises with his eyes.

"She was being a bitch," came the answer.

Riku laughed at his frankness. "How so?"

"She cornered me while I was heading to class, saying something about staying away from you. I think she was just saying that because of the rumor and I tried to tell her that it was a misunderstanding. Then she called me a bad name, so I put her in the vending machine."

"But why the vending machine?"

"To scare her, of course."

"Hm... of course…" Riku said, nodding out of habit. "Sora?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Are you a witch?"

"Hmmmmm… I guess if you want… Sure."

Which didn't exactly answer Riku's question. But the older teenager figured that this was just Sora being as enigmatic and mysterious as ever. He glanced down at his homework, scrutinizing a question he hadn't understood earlier.

"Explain the use of calcium in the muscle," Riku read out loud. It was another habit of his to read out the problems he couldn't figure out, half-hoping that the answer would come to him just by doing so.

"It's an ion used for contractions," Sora said from below him. The silver-haired teenager jumped a little.

"What?"

"It's an ion used for contractions," the brunette repeated. "When the muscle receives the action potential, calcium ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which caused troponin and tropomyosin to move and the muscle contracts."

It sounded correct, so Riku wrote it down. "Sora, you're taking Anatomy and Physiology also?" he asked. Which would mean that the brunette was in the same grade as him.

"No, I'm a junior—" Ah, so Sora was a year behind him. "—I don't take Anatomy and Physiology yet. I just know stuff like that."

Riku scratched the side of his head with the eraser end of his pencil thoughtfully. Though Sora wasn't exactly normal, the silver-haired teenager had to admit that hanging around him was pretty advantageous.

"Calcium ions are also the main reason why bodies go into rigor mortis," Sora added. "ATP is needed to pump the calcium ions out of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. When the body is dead, no ATP is made and the calcium ions stay where they are and the muscles remain contracted, which leads to rigor mortis."

Of course the mortician's son would find a way to loop their conversation back to death...

"Did you also know that you can influence rigor mortis?" Sora continued. "They say that if the victim was very, very active _right_ before they die, they could die standing!"

No, Riku didn't know that, nor did he really want to know that he could die standing.

"I want to try that…" The brunette said. A mad laugh echoed underneath the floorboards and the silver-haired teenager had a hunch that tonight he might just have nightmares about Sora testing his little theory on him.

"Riku?"

The silver-haired teenager looked up. "Yeah?"

"Can you hand me this machete in my backpack?"

'_He has a machete in his backpack?_' Riku thought wildly. "Sure," the eighteen-year-old responded.

Riku scooted over to Sora's backpack, which was close to him, and pulled out the weapon, which was sheathed in snug, black nylon. The silver-haired teenager pushed up the sheath a little, admiring his clear reflection in the metal. The blade was about as long as his forearm.

Sora's hand broke through the floor and gripped his wrist. Riku could not help himself, he cried out in surprise.

"Thank you," the brunette said. "Can you hand it to me?" He released the silver-haired teenager and opened his palm. Riku silently and shakily placed the machete's handle in Sora's hand, which the mortician's son grabbed tightly and withdrew his hand back into the floor. Several seconds later he could hear the brunette cutting into something and Riku tried not to think to much on what it could be.

The silver-haired teenager took this opportunity to see what else Sora had in his backpack. There were herbs that he did not recognize in ziplock bags, several knifes, Witchcraft books with covers that made his spine shiver and down at the very bottom, the eighteen-year-old saw some viable normal student papers. He pulled one out.

It was a History test, dated last week. The numbers 17 were written and circled in bold red marker.

"Hey, Sora?"

"Hm?"

"Do you hate history?"

A loud hiss emitted from the floor and Riku took that as a "yes."

"You know that history is a required subject, right?" The silver-haired teenager continued. "And if you don't pass it you won't graduate?"

"I'm doing fine."

"That's not what your last test is telling me."

"Don't rifle through my things!" The floor seemed to rumble when he said that.

"Look, Sora," Riku reasoned, "I can help you. We can help each other, actually. You can help me with my Anatomy and Physiology, and I'll help you with History in return. How does that sound?"

Something was shuffling underneath him. Riku figured Sora was thinking.

"I concede," he said, finally.

"All right. How about we start right now?" The silver-haired teenager suggested.

The younger made a sort of agitated hum, but he climbed out of the hole second later. "Okay," he said.

"Great," Riku wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Which house do you want to go to?" As Riku didn't wish to incur Sora's deadly and painful wrath, he decided to let the brunette choose.

"I wish to go to my house," the brunette said.

* * *

The second story of the Leonhart household was just as Riku thought their house should have been. Dusty, danky, dark, and there were several objects scattered everywhere. Bodyparts from dummies, knives (Riku eyed a triple-bladed knife suspiciously as he passed it), papers, and items he couldn't recognized but looked pretty medieval.

Sora navigated him to his room, which was the second on the left down the hallway.

"I'm sorry it's such a mess," Sora said as he opened the door and entered his room.

"It's okay. I don't… think it'll be… a… problem…"

Riku stood frozen in the doorway, staring with bulging eyes at Sora's room. There were blood splatters everywhere along the walls and floor.

'Oh my God…' he thought.

As if reading his thoughts, Sora spoke up. "Don't worry, it's not real blood," he said. "Blood has a nice color, but you see it changes when it dries. So Dad and I found a paint with a similar shade instead."

"Oh. Th-that's nice," Riku said.

There was no bed; instead there was a black coffin. _Two_ black coffins, actually, one was Sora's size and the other…

'That looks like my size,' Riku thought, his heartrate skyrocketing and the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. To distract himself, the silver-haired teenager focused on another aspect of the room.

There was a TV with a combination of a DVD and VHS player underneath it. A sandy-blonde, mullet-mohawked dummy and a lilac-haired dummy were in the corner. The lilac dummy had a butter knife in his hand and was maliciously leaning over the mohawked dummy, which was lying on its back on the floor.

"That's Applepie and Blueberry!" Sora introduced. "Applepie's the one on the floor."

"What's Blueberry doing with the knife?"

"He found out Applepie was cheating on him, so Blueberry's gonna slit Applepie's throat open."

"With the butterknife?" The concept sounded slow, crude and painful.

"Mm-hm."

"O-oh…" Riku said, turning away from the dummies with discomfort.

The walls on either side of the wall with the coffins were covered by shelves full of a books—books of murders, poisons, witchcraft, weapons, torture devices and tasty little ditties of freak accidents and suicides gone wrong—video tapes, DVDs and several items. Taking a quick glance, Riku saw that all of the video tapes and DVDs were of horror movies.

"And here are my friends!" Sora said, gesturing his hand to the wall opposite of the coffins. There, Riku saw two skeletons (one dressed in a tuxedo and the other dressed in a wedding gown) and what appeared to be a full-size replica of a bloody zombie.

"This is Helicobacter Pylori and Clostridium Tetani—" Sora pointed to the male and female skeletons, "—and Ebola Virus, **[1]**" the zombie.

"Oh!" he said suddenly. He jogged over to the larger coffin and lifted it up. "And this is Yersinia Pestis! He's usually out and about, but the sunlight hurts his eyes, so he stays in here during the day."

Riku realized that Sora was naming his dummies after deadly bacteria, but one single bacteria sounded like he heard it before. "Yersinia Pestis? Why does that name sound familiar?"

"It's the bacteria that caused the Black Death! Isn't it lovely?" Sora stroked Yersinia's cheek affectionately. "Ah, Yersinia, I love you," he said, kissing the dummy.

Completely weirded out, Riku turned to the wall with the skeletons and found himself staring at a large pentacle that was painted there. Following the pentacle he saw several magic circles drawn on the ceiling. There were also about a dozen horrifyingly realistic severed heads hanging from the ceiling. (Riku found himself staring at one with several vertebrae protruding out of the neck.) All positioned so that their, gaping, bloodied, terrified faces were looking down at the two. The silver-haired teenager faced the brunette in shaky movements. "Um, let's—let's get started on studying, shall we?"

They sat in the center. Riku tried to ignore the splatters that look so much like blood as he crossed his legs. "All right, we can start on history first. Here, let me see your book."

Sora sat in front of him, fished the reading material out of his bag and glumly handed it to him.

The eighteen-year-old flipped through the book. "Okay, Sora, what subject are you guys studying?"

"Land of the Dragons History," the brunette answered.

"Okay, what can you tell me about the Land of the Dragons?"

"I dunno…"

Riku hummed thoughtfully and turned over several pages in the book. "What year was the Ming Dynasty established?"

"Beats me."

"Who was Emperor Hongwu?"

"I have no idea."

Pausing for a moment, Riku figured that perhaps he needed to take another angle at this.

"Who was Shan Yu?" the silver-haired teenager asked.

"Leader of the Huns in Fourteenth century China," Sora answered automatically, perfectly annunciated and clear. "He killed approximately three thousand, four hundred and fifty two people before he was killed by Fa Mulan."

"What is the Tumu Crisis?"

"A frontier conflict, originally started on July 1449, between the Oirat Mongols—led by Esen Tiyasi—and the Chinese Ming Dynasty which led to the capture of Emperor Zhengtong on September 1, 1449. **[2]**" The eighteen-year-old scanned down the page as the brunette spoke. Sora was reciting the passage word-for-word. Amazing.

The brunette continued. "A Ming Dynasty army of five hundred thousand men lost to a much smaller force whose specific number is not recorded in the textbook. It is said to be the worst military blunder in the Ming Dynasty."

"Who initially started the Great Wall of China?"

"I dunno."

Riku looked up from the book, raising a curious brow. "How many people _died _making the Great Wall of China?"

"Approximately one million," the brunette answered rapidly, twiddling his thumbs absentmindedly.

Riku placed his face in his hands and sighed.

'Naturally…' the silver-haired teenager thought, 'he only knows the bits and pieces about battles and death!'

Sora tilted his head to one side, watching the silver-haired teenager. "Is there something the matter?" he asked.

"No, no, nothing…" Riku said. "We just have a lot of work to do. Sora, who's your History Professor?"

"Professor Saix."

"Good, I had him also. Okay, first off, you have to know that he likes dates, battles, important people and their deeds and documents. I'm pretty sure you've got the battles down, but you'll have to work on the other four."

Sora nodded and took the book from him. "Dates, important people, deeds, and documents," he repeated. "Got it."

"All right." The silver-haired teenager took out his Anatomy and Physiology book and began doing today's assignment. The younger looked up from his book.

"What material are you studying for?"

Riku gave a sad sigh and looked down. "Muscles. We're going to have to know the names of most of the muscles in the body and be able to identify them on a model." The older teen flipped the page, showing a lovely spread of the human body's muscles. Sora scooted forward, peering at the printed material. Suddenly he looked behind him, to the anatomical dummy—Yersinia, he had said—as if the dummy had called him.

"Yersinia says you can use him."

"Yersinia?" Riku repeated slowly. "The dummy?"

"Yes, Yersinia's anatomically correct from head to toe. He can be useful in helping you and he is willing to allow you touch him."

The silver-haired teenager nodded, his mind wandering back with how Sora said the dummy "allowed" him, as if it were alive. He shook the thought away when he saw the younger head to the coffin, haul Yersinia out and place it on its feet. Sora even took care to place the dummy in the darkest part of the room. With swift, practiced hands, the brunette easily stripped Yersinia of his skin and stood aside to allow Riku to use it.

The silver-haired teenager uneasily walked forward.

Using the dummy proved to more helpful than Riku first thought. Having the muscle in front of him made the information much easier to compartmentalize in his brain and thus memorization came easy.

Thirty minutes into studying—and with nearly all the names of the muscles he had to remember memorized—Riku turned to Sora.

"Hey, Sora, how are you doing with the—?"

The book had been abandoned, and the brunette was off in the corner, fiddling with a closed butterfly knife.

"Hey, Sora, I thought you were supposed to be studying," the silver-haired teenager reminded him.

Sora tucked the knife away, gave a low little growl, much like a very angry cat would, and begrudgingly scurried back to the history book.

Unfortunately, one hour later, the Riku began to realize just how much the brunette hated studying for History. Often when he turned around he found the brunette looking elsewhere, playing with a killing device (or devic_**es**_) that seemed to materialize out of nowhere, reading another book with a disturbing, dark cover or sleeping.

Honoring his conscience and their agreement, Riku brought Sora's attention back, reprimanded him for the knife, scissor, hidden knife-pen, sword, cleverly-hidden axe or club, and woke him up when needed. But the older teenager knew that something had to be done.

"Look, Sora, you really have to focus. Why don't you give me that knife—"

Immediately the brunette's eyes became livid, his lips pulled back (his sharp canines suddenly very apparent) and a completely _feral_ snarl rose from his throat that was so terrifying the older teen scrambled back, his heart pounding and eyes near tears.

"Okay, okay, okay…" Riku fought to keep his voice even. "If you want to keep your weapon, that's fine. But you should at least keep studying."

"I don't like history!" Sora spat, switching the knife from the forehand to the backhand position rapidly. "I hate it! I don't care! Don't don't don't care! Not even a little bit! Disgusting little book!"

The silver-haired teenager sighed and scratched his head. "Here, let me help you," he said, edging towards Sora and simultaneously eyeing the weapon in the brunette's hand. He cautiously sat next to him, which seemed the surprise the mortician's son. "What do you have a problem with?"

Sora looked at him, tilting his head in curiosity as if he were attempting to grasp the situation. He seemed too busy in his contemplation to answer.

"Are you having trouble memorizing the dates?" Riku asked.

The brunette nodded.

"Okay, here. Sometimes it just helps to put them in a timeline, you know? Like, just having them in order helps you. So why don't we try that?"

Closeness seemed to have a positive effect on Sora, whose usual off-putting demeanor melted to a most endearing, normal personality. He was quiet and his normally sharp, hostile eyes took on a softer nature. And though here and there a dark flicker would pass through his face, the brunette said nothing and passively allowed the elder to continue instructing him.

It all reminded Riku too much of a story he read in his childhood about a misunderstood cat.

After half an hour, they switched and Sora began to help Riku with his homework, pointing to random muscles on Yersinia to quiz him and offering helpful tips on how to remember the names.

"The digitalis leads to the fingers, see?"

"Rectus femoris. Rectus means straight. Femoris for the bone it's attached to."

At precisely six seconds passed six minutes passed six 'o clock, Leon popped in—literally _popped in_—via a small trapdoor in the floor (and Riku, who sitting on the door, nearly toppled over) to announce dinner.

The mortician let out a curious hum as he turned. "Ah! Riku! You've come back! Still as lovely as ever, I see!"

"Good evening, Mr. Leonheart," Riku grunted as he brought himself upright.

"Riku's here helping me with my history," Sora said.

"And Sora's helping me with my biology class," the silver-haired teenager ended.

"Ah, well, then you're welcome to partake in our food, Riku," Leon said.

"Thank you, sir."

"Well, dinner is down here…" Leon bowed, and descended down the doorway as if he were on some invisible platform until he disappeared from sight.

"Come," Sora said, stepping into the trapdoor and following his father. Once the younger's head was no longer in view. Riku tentatively peered over the hole, looking down into the inky, black darkness. This was not like the hallway he found in his last visit. There was light there.

_There was no light here. _

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Riku carefully lowered his leg into the trapdoor, praying that nothing would grab his leg.

_It's so dark! The walls…_

…_are…_

…_**shrinking!**_

Riku jerked back. "A-actually," he called into the hole. "I should be getting home. My mother, you know, worries… and I have to… go."

Sora's head rose from the open trapdoor. "All right," he said.

The older teenager casually rubbed his arm, trying to ease the goosebumps. "We can meet tomorrow and study about the same time."

"Okay."

Riku began to pack his things as he continued speaking. "Um, you should try making flashcards for the important people. You know, right their name on one side and what they did on the other. It really helps."

"Thank you," Sora said. "Don't forget the anatomical names I taught you."

The silver-haired teenager grinned. "I won't. Thanks for that."

* * *

Sora lied unmoving in his black coffin, staring into the perfect darkness of his eyelids. He felt the smooth silk of the thin mattress underneath him and opened his eyes. Hard as he tried, he could not stop the image of silver hair and sea-green eyes from dancing in and out of his vision.

Sighing with exasperation, the brunette rolled onto his side, the action putting him face to face with the wall of his small coffin. He flattened himself against the wall, as if he were meeting the question that was keeping him up this fine night:

Why, through all his long list of personality defects and quirks, was Riku still hanging around him?

This had never happened to Sora before.

'Friendship…' the mortician's son thought. 'I think… they would call this friendship.'

Riku was his friend.

He never had a friend before. Save for his father and his dummies.

'And of course, you, Yersinia Pestis,' Sora raised the lid of his coffin and peeked over the top enough to see the anatomical dall.

"I don't know what to do, Yersinia…" the brunette opened the coffin completely and folded his arms on top of the wall. "I've never had a human friend before. What do people do with human friends?"

Though the room was filled with silence, the brunette nodded his head sagely.

"Riku? He's very pretty. Really pretty. Kinda smart, I guess. I think he likes sports. Yes…"

…

"I see. No, I don't think he'd like that. He's not like me."

…

"But I thought that they—oh, they didn't? Hmmm… Yeah, I guess they would like the light more."

…

"I don't know what people do for fun!" Sora said. "What? How am I—Oh, thank you, Yersinia! Thanks a lot!" the brunette said sarcastically. "Be quiet! At least I get out of this house! Another insult and I swear I'll take you apart and bury you! Don't think I won't!" The moment those words left his lips, Sora shrank into his coffin, sighing and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

…

"No, no, it wasn't your fault. It's me. This whole people-friend thing is completely out of my genre."

…

"Huh? What's that?"

… … …

…

… …

Sora nodded.

… … … …

… … …

… …

"Yes, yes, that's perfect…" A slit-like small crossed Sora's features, and his fingers drummed happily on the wall of his coffin. "Yes, yes… I'll go right now… Thank you, Yersinia Pestis. I shall place a lovely velvet cloth with stars on the lid of your coffin, would you like that? The stars shall glow in the dark, too. I'm sure you'll find that divine…"

… … …

"Hee hee hee… Yes, I knew you would. Only the best for my lovely Yersinia. Ashes to ashes, they all fall down! All for you, my darling!" Giggling, Sora slid out of his coffin, opened his window, and vanished into the night.

* * *

**[1]" **Helicobacter Pylori, Clostridium Tetani… Ebola Virus" **H. Pylori causes stomach ulcers, C. Tetani causes Tetanus, and Ebola Virus obviously causes ebola. :D Deadly diseases! Yersinia Pestis is supposed to be to Sora like Hiroshi-kun is to Sunako.**

**[2]** "A frontier conflict between the Oirat Mongols and the Chinese Ming Dynasty which led to the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor on September 1, 1449." **From wikipedia.**

**Yes, Sora sleeps in a coffin. **_**TOTALLY BADASS**_**. When I get my own house, I'm sleeping in a coffin. And I'm having, like, three massive german shepards guard me so that someone doesn't nail the coffin shut and lock me in!**

**Reviews are my dark clouds in front of the sun on my emo days. :D **

**-See you next chapter!**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! ^_^ My shamelessly acquired reviews which I guilted you into giving me. X| I know, I'm such a terrible person. But thank you all, again! :D **

**Made a couple mistakes. Riku's a senior, not a junior. Sora's a junior, not a sophomore. I've already corrected this on my previous chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS.

* * *

**

_Chapter 4: The Shadows Have Eyes_

The Yorushi household was a modern, two-story residence with a white bricks and a beige roof. The garage was able to hold two cars and the square windows were spotless.

Sora perched on the branch outside of Riku's bedroom window, completely unbothered by the late hour as he continued to observe the silver-haired teen. A book -_ Stalker Book 1_, it was titled - was open on his lap and a pen was poised in his left hand, ready to write. The open page already had several sentences of writing on it.

_[Monday, September 25]_

_3:00 AM_**-**_Riku is sleeping peacefully. No disturbances. _

The brunette did not even move (save for breathing) from his spot. He was always very good at staying still.

_4:00 AM—No changes. _

_5:00 AM—No changes. _

_6:00 AM—No changes in Riku's bedroom. His father has left for work (I suppose.)_

_6:10 AM—Alarm clock rings. Riku hits the snooze button. _

_6:15 AM—Alarm clock rings. Riku hits the snooze button._

_6:20 AM—Alarm clock rings. Riku hits the snooze button. _

_6:25 AM—Alarm clock rings. Riku hits the snooze button._

_6:30 AM—Alarm clock rings. Riku silences it and rolls out of bed. He stumbles as he stands, scratching his head idly as he walks to (what is perceived to be) his bathroom. Water is heard running. Riku comes out, yawning. He exits the room._

Sora deftly and swiftly left the branch and settled in the bushes outside of a very convenient window on the first floor of Riku's house.

_6:31 AM—Riku greets his mom as he moves to his kitchen. His mother has already had breakfast made and he eats while watching a small TV situated on the counter._

Sora easily climbed back onto his branch as Riku left the table and headed for his room.

_6:48 AM—Riku re-enters his room and __**[Note: illegible]**__ he __**[Note: illegible]**__ off his shirt and pants—

* * *

_

Riku raised his head. He could have sworn he heard a _thud _just a moment ago. Brushing it off as a minor auditory hallucination, the silver-haired teen walked into his bathroom, cladded only in his boxers and carrying today's clothes over his shoulder.

* * *

_**[Note: blood stain on page]**_

_7:10 AM—Riku leaves for school. _

Rubbing a new bump on his head, Sora decided that now he should go head to his house to get ready for school as well. He will continue to write his observations on scratch paper and then culminate them in his book.

He raked his hands through his hair, combing out stray bits of leaves and twigs that had gotten caught in it, before he slipped away. He hastily wiped the back of his hand under his nose, checking if he was still bleeding.

* * *

_6:06 PM—Riku has left the residence._

_6:24 PM—Riku eats. Food consumed includes approximately 2 ½ cps orange juice, 3 servings of soup, and one half of a baked potato. _

_6:45 PM—Riku is in his room playing a video game. Appears to be very absorbed in game. The graphics look very... entertaining. Blood. Lots of death. I like it.  
_

_7:22 PM—Riku turns off gaming device and begins his homework. _

_8:00 PM—Riku is still doing his homework. _

_8:02 PM—Riku leaves room and enters kitchen to drink a Dr. Pepper beverage. _

_8:05 PM—Riku is pacing in kitchen, perhaps he is thinking of homework. _

_8:13 PM—Riku finishes drink, re-enters his room and begins to work on his laptop. _

_8:17 PM—Riku laughs, it does not appear he is doing his schoolwork._

_9:00 PM—Riku puts away laptop and goes to his dresser to pull out a pair of un__**[Note: illegible]**_ _and his pajamas. He_ _enters his bathroom and begins his bath._

_9:21 PM—Riku exits bath in his pajamas and restarts his homework._

_10:00 PM—Riku is doing his homework._

_11:00 PM—Riku is doing his homework._

_11:33 PM—Riku puts away school papers and begins to sleep. Riku looks lovely in his sleep. Yes. Lovely, so lovely…_

_12:00 AM—Riku is asleep._

_12:45 AM—Riku rises to go the bathroom._

_1:00 AM—Riku is asleep._

_1:02 AM—Riku goes to the bathroom. _

_2:00 AM—Riku goes to the bathroom._

_3:00 AM—Riku is asleep.

* * *

_

[Two and half weeks later]

"Riku?" Axel said to him one lunch hour.

"Yeah?"

"You know that mortician's kid?"

"Mm-hm." The silver-haired teenager slid another French fry into his mouth.

"He's staring at you."

Riku turned around, seeing Sora staring at him from an abandoned lunchtable in the distance, the lights flickering around him.

Not the least bit phased, the silver-haired teenager lifted his hand and waved at him with a small smile. Sora's eyes narrowed, not with anger, but with contemplation. As if he were on some sort of conveyor belt instead of a _stable, _long, board-like, table seat that _would most definitely not move_, he slid (still sitting) down the seat—

A student passed in front of him.

—and out of sight.

"Did anyone else see that?" Tidus asked, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, I did. We all did, you're not hallucinating, Tidus," Riku said. "I try not to fathom too much about the things Sora does. I mean, compared to the other things he can do that was nothing, if not entertaining." Though he just said that, the silver-haired teenager found himself amused at how used he was to Sora's antics. They had been... friends, Riku hoped that was the proper term, for about two-and-half weeks now.

Axel looked at him with a raised brow.

"You've been hanging out with him," he stated, pointing a finger.

Hating being pointed at, Riku grabbed Axel's finger and threw it aside. "What about it?"

"You're friends with the creepy kid!" Demyx leaned in, shocked. "Seriously?_!_"

"He's not such a bad guy," Riku said. "I mean, he _is_ freakishly disturbing, but he hasn't exactly _done_ anything to me. He's been helping me with my Anatomy and Physiology homework—"

"So _that's_ how you've been passing that class!" Axel said, banging his fist lightly on the table.

"—and I've been helping him with his History class," the silver-haired teenager finished.

"Hey, did you ask him how he locked Kairi Nakano in the vending machine?" Tidus asked excitedly.

"I did. He didn't really give me a straight answer, but I _really_ think he's a witch to some degree."

"I knew it!" the blonde whispered under his breath.

"You know, man," Wakka cut in. "I'm kinda surprised you're still alive."

"I know, me too," Riku let out a little laugh. "I was at his house the other day and…" The silver-haired teenager stopped as he looked at the wide-eyed, open-mouthed expressions of his friends.

"You… _went_… to his_… house_?" Demyx ventured.

"_Been_ going to his house actually," Riku said, enjoying the aghast looks of his friends far too much.

"What!"

"How are you still alive?_!_"

"_Oh my God!_"

"RIKU!"

"_How_ are you_ still_ _ALIVE!_?_!"_

The bell rang before they had a chance to get their questions' answers.

"Oops, there's the bell!" Riku said. "Better get to class!"

* * *

"Sora?" Riku looked up from his textbook and to the brunette, who also raised his head.

"Yes?"

"Was there something you wanted to ask me during lunch?"

"No, nothing in particular…"

"Oh…" The elder scratched his head with the eraser end of his pencil as casually as he could.

"Then why were you looking at me?"

"I was thinking."

"About me?"

"No."

Riku scratched his head again. "Did you want to join us?"

"…No, I like being alone."

"None of us are going to hurt you." The silver-haired teenager felt like Sora was more of a threat to them than vice versa.

There was a quiet silence and then the brunette turned to Yersinia, as if silently asking for advice. Riku had noticed that Sora often turned to the dummy and interacted with it on a level above words, which was strange and interesting at the same time.

"Perhaps tomorrow…" the younger said.

* * *

The next lunch period, Riku saw Sora sitting where he usually sat in his dark little corner.

Feeling bolder than usual, the silver-haired teenager bypassed his accustomed table and sat next to Sora. His friends watched him, appalled and amazed, as if they had expected him to be dead the moment his bum hit the seat.

"Hey Sora," he greeted, and began to eat.

The light above them shut off for precisely six seconds and then flickered back on.

"Good afternoon, Riku," the brunette said in reply.

Axel, Roxas, Demyx, Zexion, Wakka and Tidus exchanged wary, frightened looks. Finally, Axel stood up with his lunch tray and—taking a deep breath—sat next to Riku.

"Hey, Riku! Hey, Sora!" He said as cheery as he could manage (which sounded like he was greeting a massive attack dog twice his size.) "I'm Axel," he stuck his hand out. "What's up?"

Sora narrowed his eyes and looked at Riku, who made the smallest gestured with his head to take the hand. The brunette slowly lifted his hand off the table and grasped Axel's hand silently and shook it.

Though he felt better that he didn't catch fire or died, or anything in between, the redhead couldn't quell this sick, petrified feeling in his stomach like he was standing on top of a landmine.

Roxas cleared his throat and followed after Axel. "Hey Sora," he said timidly. The brunette nodded.

Demyx and Zexion coming soon after. The lilac-haired teen taking the seat in front of Riku and the mullet-mohawked teen (in a gesture that showed more courage than the silver-haired teen gave him credit for) took the other seat next to Sora as if he were settling into an electric chair. Riku almost laughed at the look on his face.

"H-H-H-Hey… S-S-Sora." Demyx stuttered, utterly terrified.

The brunette bowed his head in greeting.

Finally, Tidus and Wakka took their own leap of faith, each uncomfortably introducing himself.

They suffered through an awkward silence that seemed to last ages and ages, each teen unsure of how to break the ice. None of them even ate for they were all too uneasy, save for Riku, who was gripped by this strange optimism that everything was going to be all right.

It seemed the entire lunchroom had quieted down and was watching them, wondering if they were going to leave the table alive or dead.

To Riku's surprise, it was Zexion who spoke up.

"Begonia," he said.

The rest of the table casted him curious glances.

"That scent. It's the Begonia flower," the lilac teen clarified. "For protection. There is chamomile, too." He glanced at Sora.

The brunette tilted his head to the side with interest. "Salt, garlic and cinnamon," he stated. "Quite a basic mix. I believe that is you?"

Zexion gave a short chuckle and reaching into his blazer to pull out a small, purple, velvet bag that was closed by a black cord. "You are as good as I perceived you to be."

Sora's face warped into that dark smile Riku had labeled to be his happiest facial expression.

It didn't take long for the table occupants to figure that Sora and Zexion were both witches. Suddenly, Demyx began giggling uncontrollably. All eyes turned to him. The mullet-mohawked teen giggled for so long that he began to hiccup.

"So—_hic!—_ry!" Demyx began. "_Hic!_ I'm relieved, is all." He stuck his hand out at Sora, who drew back a little at the gesture as if it were posing a threat, an action Demyx failed to see as he continued to reintroduce himself. "Hi, Sora, I'm—_hic!—_ Demyx, I'm seventeen and I like guitars and music. I thought you were scary at first, but since Zexy's a witch and you're a witch and Zexy's not so bad, I don't think you're all that bad too!"

The brunette gripped his hand and uneasily mimicked him. "Hi, Demyx, I'm Sora, I'm seventeen and I like black things and dead things… and I am… happy… to meet you."

Encouraged by Demyx's ability to be unconditionally friendly, Tidus spoke up, "Hey, Sora, is it true that you locked Kairi Nakano in the vending machine?"

"Yes," Sora answered nodding. "That is true."

"Neat. How did you do it?"

Everyone leaned forward, eager to hear his answer. The brunette tilted his head to one side, farther and farther until it appeared that his neck was about to snap.

"…Do you really wish to know?" he asked, quietly and calmly, and yet for some reason they all felt more afraid than ever.

"Hey, Sora," Roxas said suddenly, gratefully changing the subject, "you're in Mr. Cunning's Economics class, right?"

"Yes."

"So—uh—did you get the homework questions?"

"Yes."

"Great, can I see it? I didn't manage to copy it down."

As the period went on, the seven friends also found out that Sora had a great ear for gossip.

"Oh, Riku!" Axel said, leaning to his best friend. "Did you hear? Paine and Rikku hooked up. Apparently someone saw them making out yesterday afterschool—"

"Misconception," Sora said suddenly, making the redhead and Riku look at him.

"Did you say something, Sora?" Riku asked.

"It was a misconception," the brunette repeated. "Whoever saw it was wrong. It was more than likely Gippal. His hair and Paine's hair are both short so in the sunlight they could be mistaken for each other. Apparently, Gippal has always liked Rikku since the seventh grade. Plus, the girl who saw it admitted she was wearing the wrong prescription for her contacts and Paine was in soccer practice at the time. Unless she can be in two places at once, I see no validation for this rumor."

The two stared at him, marveled.

"I'm strange, not deaf," Sora said.

* * *

Sora and Riku's tutoring had become surprisingly more fluid as the days went by. Their efforts had been beneficial. Sora had aced two quizzes and his homework grade had gone up significantly. Riku's average had shot up to a 96 in his Anatomy and Physiology, which was the target of scorn and numerous glares from his classmates. Their tutoring time had also given rise to a more human, less terrifying Sora. The brunette did stay true to his predisposition and often rambled about things such undertaker's work, proper techniques of suicides and torture devices, but he would also offer Riku a Dr. Pepper and attempt to speak of more regular topics such as video games, school and gardening. Though these conversations would eventually wander back to darker themes, the eighteen-year-old did appreciate Sora's effort. Once Riku mentioned how one would have cut the ends of roses in a diagonal fashion to help them live longer and the brunette proceeded to educate him on why that was so and then went on to explain how the white rose meant death and how each flower had its own meaning, and then somehow the conversation turned towards a story Sora read once about a vampire girl who locked a mother and daughter in a kitchen to horribly starve to death and carried white chrysanthemums - her symbol of death - several days after, and afterwards the brunette commented on how odd it was that the girl carried white chrysanthemums, because white chrysanthemums stood for truth rather than death.[1] Meanwhile, Riku was more focused on the fact that Sora was more concerned about the mismatched meaning of flowers rather than the fact that a mother and daughter suffered a terrible death at the hands of a sadistic vampire.

The silver-haired teenager was beginning to think of how in the world he could repay Sora back for this. One day, Riku decided to take a break from studying with Sora and went down to Twilight Town's shopping district to find a present for the brunette.

The eighteen-year-old eyed a _Hot Topic_ store with interest. There was gothic and creepy clothing there. He wondered if Sora would find it humorous if he got him a strait jacket…

'No, crazy people don't like being told they're crazy,' Riku decided. Not that Sora was crazy. It's just that if the brunette took the gift the wrong way the older teenager could find himself waking up and having his feet switched around or… something disturbing like that.

Riku walked by the store. A weapon sounded like a good idea. Sora was always fiddling with them. Maybe he'd like a neat little knife.

…Now came the fateful question: _Would he really want to give Sora, the psychotic mortician's son and lover of all things odd and gore, another killing device?_

It wouldn't hurt, would it? To give him another knife or two? The brunette carried numerous weapons on him at all times (Riku had found this out about a week ago.) And if Sora had wanted to hurt him he already would have, right?

Squashed between a _Macy's_ and a _Felicia's Jewelry Store_, Riku saw a small store called _The Gallery_, written with a black gothic font. Taking his chances, the silver-haired teenager went inside.

There was a large glass case filled with knives and silver pendants with a single cashier behind it, a man wearing all black and heavy eyeliner with a silver pentacle dangling from a chain around his neck. The cashier eyed the eighteen-year-old for moment before picking up a deck of tarot cards and thumbing through them.

Riku walked into the store, glancing at the numerous amounts of occult jewelry, cauldrons, goblets, incense and oils. At the far end of the store was a shelf of books that lined the entire wall. The silver-haired teen gazed over the titles briefing, mildly interested in a book titled, _The Necromancer's Grimoire_. Riku was considering buying a book for Sora, after all, the brunette had shelves of them in his room, but then he stumbled upon a particular poster placed on the wall near the bookshelves.

The eighteen-year-old couldn't help but smile. 'Perfect,' he thought.

"Excuse me?" he looked to the cashier.

"Yeah?" the man said.

* * *

Several minutes later, Riku exited _The Gallery_. Sora's present safely tucked away in his bookbag.

The eighteen-year-old couldn't help but feel happy with himself. He knew that the brunette would like what he got.

Riku checked his watch. It was 5:15. He should get home soon.

* * *

High above Riku, lying on his stomach with a _Trolli's _sour gummy worm between his lips, Sora watched the silver-haired teenager as he walked. Cramming the rest of the treat into his mouth, the brunette picked up a black pen and began to scribbling into his _Stalker Book 2._

_5:15 PM. Riku has left_ The Gallery. _Seems happy. He has spent the most time in this store than any other stores observed._

'Interesting…' Sora thought to himself. 'What in the world would Riku be doing in there? This is completely different than his usual activities.'

The brunette flipped through his book, rereading the detailed entries of the silver-haired teenager's life up to about a week ago.

'Riku has never gone into a store like that before, and he usually avoids dark things. This pattern of behavior is odd. So why would he…?'

Perhaps he would go ask the clerk later. Sora did admit that following Riku this passed few weeks had yielded him a decent amount of data to construct a viable model of the silver-haired teen's personality and interests.

_General Personality: nice, friendly and courteous. _

_Likes: talking, texting, sports (mostly blitzball and soccer) and video games, especially this… _Assassin's Creed._** (Note: Must look this video game up.)**_

_Habits: Has a strange addiction to the_ Dr. Pepper _beverage. Often scratches his head with his pencil when he's confused or thinking hard, he also paces once in a while. Doodles in the margins of his notes when bored in class. Often gets up to go the bathroom at night (average: 3.) Crosses his arms when annoyed. Rubs his arm when nervous. Stammers when nervous. _

With this the brunette figured he could begin being a human friend to Riku. The other human friends, too, perhaps he should go follow them for a week to gather data. Sora felt a little warm twinge in his chest when he recounted how many… friends… he had made thanks to Riku. He really must find a way to repay the older teen for this.

The brunette lifted his head and saw the familiar figure of Riku's other stalker following several paces after the silver-haired teenager.

The man had appeared today and he had been tailing Riku since he had left the school. Sora had been watching him from the buildingtops. The other stalker was dressed casually in jeans and a simple graphic T-shirt as to not stand out. He had done nothing, but a familiar sensation in his gut told Sora that the man was going to be bothersome if not dealt with soon. Bothersome to Riku, his friend. And friends protect other friends, the brunette knew that much. Sora popped another gummy worm into his mouth before rising to his feet. He dusted himself off momentarily and then easily leaped to the rooftop of the next building, which was about three stories high, the same height as the previous structure he had been on.

The brunette leaped off the building and landed safely into an allyway without making any noise. From the shadows, he watched Riku pass the ally. Several seconds later the man walked by and Sora grabbed him by his shirt and lugged him into the darkness. Immediately, the other stalker flailed wildly, but the brunette was strong and quickly pinned him against the wall, despite their differences in height.

"Excuse me," Sora said, remembering his manners. "Why have you been following my friend?" He kept his voice even, but his eyes were livid and terrifying.

"I—I have no idea what you're talking about!" the man said.

Slowly, a sarcastic, horrible, thin smile broke from corner to corner across Sora's face. The mortician's son reached behind him, grabbed a knife tucked in his belt and poised the blade right beneath the other stalker's chin.

"I do not like liars," Sora said. "I would appreciate it if you told me the truth. Why have you been following my friend?" he repeated.

"S-s-someone asked me to," the other stalker's voice was shaking. He was telling the truth. The brunette was sorely disappointed, he had hoped the man would be more difficult so he would have to resort to more… entertaining measures.

"Who?" Sora asked.

"I didn't get their name. They set me a typed letter and cash and told me to follow the kid, that's it! I swear!"

"Why did they want you to follow him?" Sora asked.

"I don't know!"

Scanning his face thoroughly, the brunette figured he wasn't lying. After thinking for a few more moments, Sora smile grew wider and he began to chant

"_Sashim intante ou ten nanao e res ip satotem—_ "

"What's that?" the man asked, frightened.

"—_fuuru an-poh yo ii tatum bas jasu jasu jasu—_"

"What—what's that you're saying? Stop it! Stop that!"

"—_jasu ben._"

The brunette's smile grew wider, more terrifying.

"Nothing. Nothing at all Mr. Stalker, sir," he said in his sweetest voice, which sounded like a horrifying whisper in a dark night. "I suggest you tell your client that you can no longer do this job lest…" the brunette paused for effect, "…unpleasant things will occur. Unpleasant on your part, that is. In fact, I would find it wise for you to decline from any requests concerning my friend."

Sora released the man, who stumbled forward a little, his petrified eyes on the teen. The brunette tilted his head. "Run along, now, Mr. Stalker, sir," he said, lifting his hand and curling out of the fingers as if he were shooing away a little puppy.

The man scrambled away, probably thinking that he was cursed for life. Of course, the words Sora said were gibberish. He certainly wasn't going to waste any magic on a half-assed stalker.

Dusting his hands, the brunette set out of the ally to continue following Riku.

* * *

If there was one thing Sora liked watching, it was watching Riku sleep. Not because his angelic face looked its best at ease, with his silver-hair splayed around him like a lovely pool of starlight, it was because he resembled a corpse the most this way. ...If it wasn't for his bothersome breathing…

Sora kicked his legs out a little, making the branch he was sitting on shake a bit, as he continue to observe Riku sleep through his bedroom window.

The eighteen-year-old was going to make a wonderful corpse, the most exquisite corpse imaginable... That person who hired the stupid stalker probably wanted Riku's dead body, too! The thought made Sora angry.

No one else was going to have Riku's corpse. He, alone, was going to have it. (At the moment the silver-haired teen died, Sora was going to preserve the body so that it would stay beautiful.)

'Yes… So lovely…' the brunette gave a happy shudder at the thought. He hoped Riku would die young, so that way he could have him at the height of his beauty.

Sora checked his watch. 1:23 AM. Perhaps he should leave and go sleep. He'll come back before 6:00 to gather one final day's worth of data and to ensure that the other stalker was nowhere in sight.

* * *

_Extra: Absolute Territory! No One Can Make Me Change!_

_[This incident occurred in the beginning of Sora's sophomore year]_

"Sora," Principal Ansem straightened himself, eying the sputtering light above them warily. "Do you know why I called you here?"

"No," Sora answered.

"You see, I've begun to notice that you have a certain - how can we say this? - personality about you."

"I do not understand, sir."

"Sora, several of the students, and their parents, have filed complaints about you," Ansem opened a desk drawer, searching for the file. Sora looked up, staring at a portrait of the principal, holding a light-blue popsicle, hung high behind him. Long blond hair and a trimmed mustache, he was cladded in a white robe that made him look very intelligent. Welded on the frame was a gold rectangle with the words _'Ansem the Wise_' etched on it, which Sora thought was a bit too much.

"Ah, here it is," the principal said, drawing the brunette's attention back to him.

"You've had five complaints of harassment, eighteen complaints of terrorizing, twenty complaints of death threats, _twenty-eight_ complaints from Mr. Vexen saying that you keep breaking into his dissection storage, and thirty-five complaints of open witchcraft on school grounds. Sora, this cannot go on." Ansem placed the papers on the desk.

"I want you to cease these actions at once and adjust your…" The principal motioned an open palm towards him.

"You just gestured to all of me[2]," the brunette pointed out.

"Yes, well. I'm afraid I do not think that your lifestyle is entirely beneficial for others well-being and yours."

Sora's eyes narrowed at him, and the light above them died for about five seconds before flickering back to life again. He did not fail to notice that Ansem flinched when the light went out.

The principal continued, "So, by tomorrow, I wish that you become an upstanding _normal _person of the student body, is that clear?"

"No."

"Excuse me?" Ansem was taken aback.

"I said, _no_."

"Sora, if you do not—"

"No, _you_ listen to _me,_ Principal Ansem Chie, middle name Theodore, son of Alexander Chie and Maryln Ashford," Sora raised his blazing eyes to the principal.

"How… how did you—" Ansem began, but the brunette cut him off.

"You are going to _let _me continue my ways, however unfit and improper your find them," Sora's neck cracked suddenly to the left, as if it had been broken, but his eyes were still livid and fixated on the principal—who jumped in horror when he heard the sickening noise. The brunette continued, "_And_ you are going to give me access to Mr. Vexen's dissection freezer," his voice turned ghastly, "_or I swear by the powers that be that I will place your head on your ass! And your hand where your head was and your foot where your hand was!_"

In quick little bursts of crackles, Sora brought his neck upright. Slowly, a horrifying grin grew on his gaunt face. "Ah, but that would leave an empty socket for your leg. Hmmm… Perhaps I'll replace it with a bar of_ ice cream!_"

"Good _God!_" Ansem cried out in terror, hand over his mouth.

"Do you want me to do that to you, Mr. Ansem, sir?" Sora asked slowly.

"N-no…" the principal said, staring at the teenager with horrified eyes. He spoke barely above a whisper. "No, I do not want you to do that to me…"

"Good, I see we've come to an understanding…" The brunette's grin became wider, almost threatening to crack his face in two. "Now, the key to the dissection freezer."

With a shaky hand, Ansem fished out a ring of keys from his pocket, picked out the proper one, slipped it out of the keyring and handed it to Sora, careful not to touch his fingers. A quiet, evil chuckle escaped the brunette's lips.

"Thank you. If you'll excuse me, Principal," he said. "I have several cats to acquire…"

The entire room went dark for just a moment, and Sora was gone. Ansem gasped and glanced around.

No one. No one was here.

* * *

"I'm home!" Sora called as he entered his house, a sack slung over his shoulder.

The trapdoor three feet in front of the frontdoor opened. "Sora," his father said. "You're home a little later than usual. Something happen in school?"

"No, Dad. But look!" The shorter brunette held up a sack. "I've got cats for you!"

"Joyous!" Leon said. "Bring them to the first basement."

"Sure, Dad."

The mortician and his son descended down the trapdoor, closing it with a soft _click_.

* * *

**[1]** Once Riku mentioned how one would have cut the ends of roses in a diagonal fashion to help them live longer and the brunette proceeded to educate him on why that was so and then went on to explain how the white rose meant death and how each flower had its own meaning, and then somehow the conversation turned towards a story Sora read once about a vampire girl who locked a mother and daughter in a kitchen to horribly starve to death by barricading the door with bricks and carried white chrysanthemums - her symbol of death - several days after, and afterwards the brunette commented on how odd it was that the girl carried white chrysanthemums, because white chrysanthemums stood for truth rather than death.[1] **The girl Sora's talking about is Claudia, from Anne Rice's book, _Interview With A Vampire_, which is a badass book. Fuck you, Stephanie Meyer. (Sorry if there are any _Twilight_ fans reading this.) ****I _think_ Claudia leaves the mother and daughter to starve to death, because there was... uh, fecal matter... in the kitchen but wikipedia says that she killed the two and then put them in the kitchen.****I really was going to make Sora talk about the medieval way to pull a mandrake from the ground, but this story focused too much on Sora's witchcraft for me.  
**

**[2]**You just gestured to all of me.** It's a line said by Hiccup from **_**How to Train You Dragon**_**. Ah, I love that movie.  
**

**Haha, Sora stalks Riku! (Yeah, that's what Yersinia told him to do. Since Sora knew next to nothing about normal human things, Yersinia advised him to stalk Riku to figure out how to be a better friend.) Oh, and yes, Sora eats sour gummy worms. …I LOVE SOUR GUMMY WORMS…. I was thinking of having Sora eat chocolate, but that sounded a little too sweet, you know? So thus: Sour Gummy Worms! **_**Trolli's**_** are my favorite.**

**Oh, for those who didn't really get Zexion and Sora's little ice breaker, they smelled each other's charm bags, that's how they knew they were witches. Sometimes a witch would carry a charm bag of herbs for protection or for power or other things (example: modern, teenage witches can carry a charm bag of herbs intended to help them pass a test, or give them strength to go through the day or—if you want to get sickeningly teenage—help them get the guy or girl they're interested in.) The charm bag is small (perhaps only the size of someone's palm. **

_**The Gallery**_** is an actual witchcraft store in my hometown. I love that place. ^_^ Hahaha, there's a little bit of me in every chapter. :D**

**That little extra is just a little tidbit I felt like putting in. :D Just to clarify this: When Sora refers to someone as "sir," it's not always a good thing. Hahaha.  
**

—**See you all next chapter!**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS.**

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* * *

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_Chapter 5: A Psychopathic Mind's Wonderland_

[Friday]

For what seemed like the longest time, Riku tried to work up the confidence to get around giving Sora his gift. He knew the mortician's son would like it, for sure, but he didn't know why he felt a tight nervousness in his chest whenever he thought he should pull out the present now.

He scratched his head. Sora, who had memorized the elder's habits by then, looked up.

"Is there something you are confused with?" he asked.

"Ah—no!" Riku said suddenly, and then quickly realized that since he finally got the brunette's attention perhaps he should… "Actually, Sora…"

"Yes?"

"I… I was… just thinking about how similar Applepie and Blueberry look like Demyx and Zexion." The silver-haired teenager could have kicked himself.

"Hm? Really?" The younger looked to the two dummies. Blueberry had a noose around his neck and was hanging from the ceiling. Applepie was on his knees, arms outstretched to the ceiling with open palms and head thrown back in sorrow. Apparently, Blueberry had hung himself out of grief and Applepie was mourning.

The dolls' positions were always very interesting. Sora often arranged them differently every week, following a sort of dark, dismal novella script in his mind. Two weeks ago, Blueberry caught Applepie cheating and was going to slit his throat with a butterknife. The week after, Blueberry didn't have the courage to kill Applepie and was seen in a very Shakespearean position of woe and self-loathing (with his arms bent in the air dramatically.) This week Blueberry couldn't bear the sadness anymore and decided to kill himself. Disturbingly enough, Riku always found himself wondering what story the dolls had to tell next week.

"Is that so?" Sora replied, bringing the focus back to the conversation. "I suppose they do kind of look alike." In fact, Applepie and Blueberry bore a striking resemblance to Riku's friends, which the elder had noticed the first day he came to the Leonhart house. He hoped the topic of the dolls never came up in a conversation with Zexion and Demyx, because he was almost certain that Demyx would cry and Zexion would retreat into a quiet depression and proceed to shut himself up in his house for an extensive period of time.

They spent the rest of the tutoring hour in silence. As Riku began to pack his things, he took a deep breath and spoke again.

"Sora?"

"Mm-hm?" Sora lifted his head up to him.

"You see, there's this… uh, a couple days ago I thought about buying you something, as a gift for all the tutoring you gave me." The silver-haired teen pulled out a small slip of paper and presented it to him.

As soon as the brunette saw it his eyes went wide. "A guillotine door frame, complete with a blade," Sora whispered the words reverently. He looked up at Riku, his eyes had now grown just about as big as saucers. "You are… buying this for me?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be delivered and you'll need to show them this pa—gah!" The eighteen-year-old was nearly thrown off balance as Sora threw himself into his arms and clasped his hands behind his waist tightly.

For several seconds, Riku thought that the younger had stabbed him, and then he quickly realized that this was a hug. Sora was… giving him a _hug._

"Thank you," the brunette said quietly. "This makes me very happy."

The elder felt a warm, fuzzy feeling settle in his chest and he wondered if he should hug back. But the smaller boy immediately withdrew as quickly as the hug was given. He cleared his throat, his face a little red and his gaze elsewhere in embarrassment.

"When will it be delivered?" Sora asked.

"Tomorrow," the silver-haired teen responded, his heart still beating a little fast from the younger's rare display of friendship. "The delivery crew will come at about ten o' clock."

"That would be fine. And I…" he paused. "I also have something for you as well."

Sora kicked behind him, knocking open a trapdoor Riku hadn't noticed before. The brunette turned quickly, disappeared into the darkness for a few moments and entered the room once more, a small item wrapped in a beige cloth in his hands. He stiffly held out the parcel to the silver-haired teen.

"Please accept it," Sora said.

Riku opened the package and almost dropped it in shock. There, shiny and silver and polished so finely, was an exact replica of the retractable extension knife from Assassin's Creed.

"I… thought you might like it. It is a reproduction of a weapon in that game you like."

"Wow, Sora, this—_Wow_…" The elder gently lifted the extendable knife from cloth.

"Here." Sora strode forward and helped the silver-haired teen fasten the knife onto his arm.

"Wow, this thing really fits me well," Riku commented as the end of the weapon ended right before the bend of his elbow.

"Yes, that is very lucky." There was a small tone of evasiveness in the brunette's voice that the silver-haired teen didn't catch.

"The blade, of course, is dulled for safety reasons, but that doesn't mean it can't hurt you," the younger explained as he tightened the three leather belts around Riku's arm and checked if the trigger-ring fit snuggly on his pinky. The silver-haired teen flexed his arm. The weapon was a little heavy.

"The three-part folding mechanism's spring is controlled by the ring on your pinky," Sora continued. "Tug your pinky out to extend it. Don't forget to keep your other fingers safe."

Riku did so and in an instant the silver blade sprung out with a dangerous _shing!_

"To retract it, simply tug your pinky again."

The silver-haired teen bent his finger out again and the blade withdrew into the internal guide rail.

Smiling, Riku looked at him. "Thank you, Sora," he said.

The brunette's cheeks darkened, just a little. "You're welcome," he responded.

* * *

Riku came by the Leonhart household at around 11:00 AM to make sure that Sora got the doorframe and to offer help installing the frame into his room.

The silver-haired teen knocked on the door. "Sora?" he called.

The door swung open lazily and with ease. There were pieces of cardboard, ducttape, styrofoam packaging and bubble wrap everywhere, all leading up to the second story. It had only taken two steps up the stairs for Riku to realize that perhaps he should have gotten Sora something safer. Mad giggling could be heard as he stepped closer to the second story and as soon as he had a clear view of the floor, the eighteen-year-old saw the brunette sitting outside his room, curled into a blissful little ball, lost in his cheery, twisted, nightmarish world.

"Sora?" The silver-haired teen approached the mortician's son carefully. "Sora?" he called again.

The guillotine doorframe was already installed, the old doorframe thrown about in random directions, forgotten. It looked just like it did in the poster. It's new, shiny, black wooden frame standing out from the rest of the house. The door was already attached to the frame, with black little hinges as to not stand out more. There was even a lunette—the device which held the person's head—situated at the bottom. It was removable if one preferred it. Riku had a feeling that Sora would have kept the lunette there.

"Hello, Riku," Sora said without looking at him, his voice was light, conversational and yet more frightening than Riku had ever heard. "Good morning. Hee hee hee… morning, mourning, morning, _mourning_!" His shoulders shook as he began to laugh.

"Hey, Sora. So, uh, do you like the present?" The eighteen-year-old asked as the laughter quieted down.

"Yes, yes I love it. I had never seen anything so magnificent."

"That's… that's good." Riku nodded cordially.

The brunette looked up to the guillotine's blade, which was clearly seen precariously perched over the doorway. Riku felt his heart skip a beat when he looked at it. It wasn't the cheap, aluminum, dull blade that the silver-haired teen had seen in the poster in _The Gallery_. It was a full-fledged, beautifully made, impeccably polished, wholly _hazardous,_ stainless steel blade that was hanging from Sora's doorway.

"I replaced the blade," the younger answered, as if he could see Riku's gawking at the new aspect of the gift.

"I can see that." Riku replied, keeping his voice from shaking. "It… It looks great."

_Now_ the silver-haired teen realized the full extent of this gift. Not only did he have to worry about leaving Sora's room alive, he also had to worry about _entering_ the room alive as well.

He should have gone with a nice, shiny, new butterfly knife or something. He should have definitely gone with a nice, shiny, new butterfly knife.

Sora lifted his feet, planted them several inches in front of him, and scooted forward. Riku watched silently as the brunette edged towards the doorframe in this manner, thinking that he was simply moving closer.

And then Sora laid down, placed his head into the lunette—

"Sora, what are you—?"

—pulled on a rope and the blade came down in a flash.

"SORA!" Riku shouted as he sprinted forward. "MR. LEONHART! MR. LEONHART, COME QUICK!" He dropped to his knees next to Sora's body and hesitantly peered over the lunette and blade.

Sora's brilliant, blue eyes were staring up into the ceiling, a demented, ludicrously happy, slit-like grin on his face and giggling softly.

If Riku wasn't so thankful he was alive, he would have throttled him. He let his body slump over the lunette.

"Oh, God…" he muttered breathlessly, not even bothering to fathom how Sora survived certain death.

"Good morning, Riku!" Leon said as he burst from a trapdoor from the wall. "I see you're here much more earlier than usual and—" He paused as he looked at the two of them, completely unphased that his son's body was divided by a guillotine blade. "Sora, how have you procured this lovely doorframe?"

"Riku bought it for me, Dad," Sora said, vocal cords obviously still intact and certainly not sliced in two by the blade.

"Oh, did he?"

"Yes, sir," Riku responded, still bent over the lunette.

"Is there something the matter, Riku?" Leon said. "You seem very tired today."

"It's nothing, Mr. Leonhart."

"Ah, Riku, how many times must I tell you to please address me as simply 'Leon?'"

"Oh. Sorry, Leon."

* * *

That Monday, the Anatomy and Physiology class took a trip to a corpse exhibit from Halloween Town that was passing by. The attraction was set up in Twilight Town's local museum, temporarily renting out the building. As Riku sat in the bus seat next to Axel, he couldn't help but think of how Sora would _kill_—quite literally—to be on this trip with him. Perhaps he'd buy him a souvenir or something. Something safe that didn't involve a sharp edge. Maybe a doll.

The bus slowed to a stop in front of the museum and the students filed out. Riku took a look at the building, which now held the corpse exhibit's banner. The banner had several corpses' pictures on either end with the words '_Halloween Town's Cadaver Gala!'_ on it.

'Sora would definitely kill to see this,' he thought, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Shoot," he muttered to himself.

"Hm? What's up, Riku?" Axel, who was standing next to him, asked.

"My phone's gone. I think it might have slipped out of my pocket." The silver-haired teen searched in his other pockets.

"I must have left it on the bus," Riku said. He jogged to the vehicle. "I'll be back in a bit!" he called to Axel.

Climbing onto the bus, the eighteen-year-old immediately went to his seat and found his phone without difficulty. As he turned to walk out, something grabbed his leg.

"Gah!" Riku tumbled downward and twisted around to kick his attacker in the face.

"Shh!" came a familiar voice.

Under the bus seat, he saw a pair of recognizable, royal blue eyes.

"_Sora?_" The silver-haired teen whispered as the mortician's son released his leg. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see the corpse museum," Sora answered simply as he pulled himself out from under the seat like a zombie wrenching itself free from the dark depths of an abyss.

"You can't be here!" Riku hissed. "You're not a senior!"

"Obviously I can because I am right here."

"Sora, _seriously_, go back to school. You can get in trouble—"

"_No._"

"Mr. Yorushi," Mr. Vexen Duffield said, stepping onto the bus with his most condescending expression "if you would like to join us, please?"

Riku turned around and saw that Sora was nowhere in sight. He glanced under the seat; he wasn't there.

"Mr. Yorushi?"

"U-um, yes, sir." The silver-haired teen straightened himself and quickly exited the bus.

Together, they joined the class and Riku anxiously took his place beside Axel and searched for Sora amongst the crowd, hardly listening to his teacher's words.

"Class this is Sally Finklestein, she is the co-director of this exhibit and I'd like you all to pay attention to her," Vexen turned to a tall, ashen-face woman with long, beautiful red hair.

"Good morning," Sally said. "Thank you all for coming. As your professor has said, my name is Sally and I am the co-director of the Halloween Town Cadaver Gala. All the cadavers here are legally acquired—"

Out of the corner of his eye, Riku saw him. Sora, smoothly moving—gliding almost—towards the left end of the building, a nearly visible dark aura around him. The other students appeared to be too focused on Sally to notice him. As nonchalantly as he could, the silver-haired teen inched towards the left.

"Okay, now if you'll all follow me. We're going to start with over here, in the room of Diseased Deaths," the co-director turned and began to walk as she continued to explain. "There is no need to be alarmed. All the corpses are contained in tempered glass and are not infectious. Now, some of the bodies here are…"

Riku took his time as he walked, pretending the front desk was just so very interesting and allowing the rest of his classmates to bypass him until he was the last one.

"Sora?" he hissed towards the left room.

"Mr. Yorushi!" Mr. Duffield called. "Stop dawdling."

Hesitantly, the silver-haired teen moved forward, catching up to his accustomed place beside Axel.

"Ax, you have to help me," he whispered.

"What is it?" His best friend kept his eyes on Sally as he spoke.

"Sora's here." This made the redhead glance down on him.

"Is he… trying to kill you?" Axel asked, quieter than before. As if he expected Sora to be listening. "Because I really can't help you there, buddy."

"What? _No!_ He's probably here to see the museum or steal a body or something." He stopped suddenly when he saw Vexen look his direction. For several seconds, the silver-haired teen appeared completely absorbed in Sally's explanation about the stages of tuberculosis. The moment the teacher looked away, Riku leaned over to Axel.

"I need you to help me find Sora," he hissed. "I _know_ he'll probably do something a little… psychotic."

"And how, pray tell, are you going to stop him if you actually manage to find him?"

"I'm working on that…"

They followed the tour, eyes searching for any sign of Sora. They passed through the room of Suicides, the room of Animal Mauls, and several other rooms Riku didn't even bother to remember. As the visit went on, and with no sight of the mortician's son, Riku began to relax.

…That is until the tour group went into the Oogie Boogie Room.

Riku saw him. Sora, sitting contently against a malicious wall made completely of corpses, his dark, thin smile plastered on his face and his breathing nearly undetectable. Though his clothing was different than those of the poor souls', with his motionless state, and gaunt, creepy features, the brunette blended in very well with the wall. So well, in fact that Sally Finklestein didn't even notice a new addition to the exhibit.

"And here we have the Oogie Boogie Wall," she said, completely oblivious as she stepped a few feet in front of Sora. "As some of you may know from your World Studies, Oogie Boogie was an awful crime lord in Halloween Town who carried out many horrifying acts during his life."

Several students nodded.

"His most infamous accomplishment is his Wall of Insubordination. In 1978, as a gruesome warning, Boogie captured all who opposed him, had them all beaten to death, and their corpses fashioned into a wall. Now, this is only a small portion of the historical wall we have brought here. The corpses have been treated with a special chemical similar to formaldehyde that was made by Boogie himself to preserve the corpses in their state."

One student raised her hand.

"Yes?" Miss Finklestein urged.

"Why has the museum decided to keep the wall as a monument rather than destroy it?"

"Well, Halloween Town's mayor believes that it is important to preserve…"

Riku wasn't even paying attention anymore. He leaned towards Axel.

"Ax," he whispered.

"I see him," the redhead replied. "What should I do?"

"Have you got your Zippo lighter on you?"

"Yup. Always."

"Good."

"Okay, our tour is just about finished," Miss Finklestein said as she began to lead the class back to the entrance. Riku nonchalantly let his pace fall to the back of the group. "If you like, you may visit the gift shop and—"

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" Axel stepped to Miss Finklestein's side and kept pace.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering, just how flammable are these bodies?"

"Wh-what?" She asked, startled.

"I mean, like, if were to just take a lighter right now, how fast would it take for the entire place to go up in smoke?"

The co-director paled and started to stammer back a reply but appeared too appalled by the idea. Immediately, Mr. Duffield stalked to his side, failing to notice as a certain silver-haired student backtracked to the Oogie Boogie Room.

"What sort of question is that, Mr. Lea?" He said gruffly.

"Just pure curiosity, sir." Axel said. "If I were to take my lighter—" The redhead whipped out the Zippo and ignited it, "—and burn an exhibit, how quickly would the fire catch onto the corpses?"

"Mr. Lea, put that lighter away right now!"

* * *

"Sora!" Riku crouched down next to him and took his wrist. "Sora, come on. You have to get out of here—"

"I'm going to stay here," the brunette whispered, blissfully. His crack-like smile widened. "I'm going to stay here forever… and ever… and _ever_…"

"No, Sora, you can't do that. Come on." The silver-haired teen tried to tug him up but the smaller's body felt like it was made of lead. Sora did not even move an inch.

"I want to stay," Sora said dreamily, his flashlight-under-the-chin expression turning towards Riku. "Leave me, Riku. I want to stay."

"Look, if Mr. Duffield finds you here, you might get suspended. He already hates you for stealing the cats from his freezer! Now, come on. I don't want you to get into trouble. Come on, please, Sora."

At the word "please," the mortician's son looked up, his sinister look seemed to fade a little and he tilted his head to the left in contemplation.

"I do not wish to leave empty handed," Sora said.

"You can't take a corpse," the silver-haired teen said firmly. He knew _that_ was illegal.

The brunette's shoulders slumped glumly and his grin quickly fell into a frown. Thinking for several moments, Sora's royal blue eyes wandered to him.

"I want a lock of hair," he said finally.

"You can't even take a lock of hair," the elder said.

"Not a corpse's," Sora said. He stood up and came close to Riku (far into his personal space) and grabbed a fistful of silver hair. "I want yours. And I want this much."

"If I give you some of my hair, will you go?"

"Yes."

The eighteen-year-old had a vision, a vision of Sora making a very detailed voodoo doll of him in the dark corner of his room while chuckling madly. A black pin was poised between the brunette's thumb and index finger, ready to jab into a well-painted heart on Voodoo Riku's chest.

Despite this ominous warning, Riku nodded to the brunette. "All right," he said.

A long smile broke across Sora's face. "Agreed," he whispered.

The brunette reached behind him, unsheathed the knife tucked into his belt and swiftly sliced a thick lock of Riku's hair. Sora took several steps back, muttering to himself excitedly. The silver-haired teen brushed his fingers against the newly cut edges of his hair nervously.

"What are you going to do with it?" Riku asked.

Sora turned to him, smiling his dark, jack-o-latern-ish smile. "You should get back to your class," he said. The lights flickered out for just a moment—just one single moment—and the brunette was gone.

The remaining teen touched his neck, relieved to find that his throat was untouched. As Riku went to rejoin his classmates—who were intently watching Mr. Duffield attempt to snatch the lighter from Axel's hands—he thought that perhaps Sora wouldn't make a voodoo doll of him to use for dark means.

After all, the mortician's son had a clear shot at slitting his throat just now and he was still alive.

* * *

**That tidbit with Applepie and Blueberry, I stuck that in there because at 4:00 in the morning (and for some godforsaken reason I was still awake) I realized that Demyx and Zexion were in the story as characters AS WELL AS DUMMIES. I went "oh FUCK!" and immediately tried to figure out a way to turn this atrocity around. And thus… the intro to this chapter was born. :-P I really, **_**really**_** love Applepie and Blueberry. :D I'm thinking of doing an extra chapter on their drama. Hahaha.**

**I **_**SO**_** WANT THE EXTENDABLE KNIFE FROM ASSASSIN'S CREED. Oh my god, I would kill so many people for that knife. **

—**See you all next chapter!**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	6. Chapter 6

**I honestly wanted to post this chapter up on Halloween, but I was only half-done with it and as I've learned through my experiences rushing myself doesn't punch out the best chapters. Well, here it is, though! A super-belated Halloween chapter!**

* * *

_Chapter 6: Horrorfest_

As the end of October was drawing near, Twilight Town High School's senior class was finishing up on their topics for the 136th annual Horrorfest. Friday, October 30th, the school was to be open to the public as a festival. Each homeroom class was going to have its attraction and the best had the privilege of exempting one final.

So, naturally, there was a lot of enthusiasm and competition. However, all was in favor of Mr. Marluxia Einhardt's 22-C homeroom, which coincidentally had an entourage of beautiful people: Namine Uesugi, Larxene Autant-Lara, Zexion Alabasta, Demyx Ross, Axel Lea and, of course, Riku Yorushi. All their physical attributes were to be used in the class' Horrorfest idea: A Halloween Cosplay Café in which all gorgeous persons were to serve as waiters and waittresses. All class students who could sew eagerly designed the costumes and everyone helped out in obtaining everything they needed such as tables, cups and other dishware, a caffeine machine, snacks, several black lights to set the mood and the tech-savvy students were working on a rather impressive-looking menu and sign.

On the Thursday before the crucial Friday, the homeroom was having their wait staff try on their clothing.

Riku grunted as Selphie tied the bow too tight around his neck. "Easy, Selphie!" he grunted. His hands were stuck out at his sides to keep them out of the way as he was dressed.

"Oops, sorry, Riku!" Selphie apologized cheerfully.

"So, Ax, has you dad given you back your Zippos?"

"_No,_" the redhead, who was standing several feet from him, said angrily. "Not until Christmas, he says. _Christmas_, Riku!" After the incident at the museum, Axel's father, Reno, confiscated his entire Zippo Lighter Collection as punishment.

"But, ugh—!" Riku began but Selphie tugged on his cuff, interrupting him, "—you know, your dad isn't really that much of a hardass. Maybe he'll give them back to you after Thanksgiving. Or maybe you can get him drunk sometime and ask him then."

"Y-yeah, I think he's gonna get totally smashed on Halloween, maybe I can—GAH!" he shouted as a Mika Haramura buckled his belt too far. "Dammit, I may be scrawny, but I'm not _that_ scrawny!" The redhead growled. "And what the hell am I supposed to be, anyway?"

"A dragon." Mika said simply.

"A dragon wearing a _suit_?"

"Uh-huh."

"Weird shit—"

"Language, Mr. Lea!" Mr. Peter Pete said from his desk. Mr. Pete was a chunky, gruff man who had temporarily replaced Maluxia Einhardt several days earlier after the teacher left for a family emergency.

"Sorry, sir," Axel mumbled. He turned back to Mika. "Why can't I be something classic like Namine?"

The two looked over at the blonde girl, who was being fitted for her outfit several feet away. She had a wide-rimmed, black, pointy hate and a thin, black, pencil dress that fell into shreds at her feet. Namine was a witch waitress, complete with a broomstick. She seemed quite pleased with her roll.

"Or a vampire like Riku?" the redhead continued to whine.

Riku's outfit was an old English suit, complete with a frilly tie and ornate decorations. How a student in his classroom acquired this, he didn't know. The only thing that allowed the silver-haired teen to be recognized as a vampire was two ivory fangs protruding from his mouth.

"Stop whining," Mika snapped, she was the one who had thought of Axel's costume in the first place. "We're giving you makeup to make you look more like a dragon. Be grateful or we'll put you as the dishwasher instead."

Axel dropped the subject, mumbling something about making a better vampire than Riku would.

As a special feature, it was decided that Riku would great the customers in intervals of 30 minutes. He would be in a coffin stationed outside the classroom and periodically step out to beckon visitors to come in.

* * *

[4:14 PM Thursday]

Sora had slowly begun to miss more and more of school as Halloween drew near. For the passed three days the mortician's son hadn't made an appearance on school grounds and had requested that Riku hold their tutoring sessions until November 2nd, which the silver-haired teen was happy to agree to because the senior's Horrorfest left very little free time.

That afternoon, however, Riku decided to pay a visit to Sora. He trotted up to the Leonhart office/residence and rang the doorbell. In about a minute he heard someone come to the door. It was Leon, dressed in a rubber suit that was drenched in blood. The eighteen-year-old felt his own blood freeze in his veins.

"Good afternoon, Riku!" Leon said chipperly.

Riku spent several minutes gawking at the brunette man's blood-soaked attire before the mortician snapped him from his daze.

"What can I do for you today?" he asked.

The silver-haired teen blinked. "Oh, right—ah… is… Sora around?"

"Yes, right this way, please," Leon said, turning and walking inside. The silver-haired teen followed him anxiously. As the mortician walked, he left viable footprints of blood as he went, which Riku found himself staring at in horror before he gathered the wits to speak again.

"Mr. Leonhart—"

"_Leon,_" the brunette corrected.

"Leon," Riku amended. "About your suit..."

"Yes, you've caught me in the middle of work, Riku. Sora was unable to come through the door."

"Oh, so all that blood is from someone who's _already_ dead… right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes." Leon nodded. "SORA!" he called so loudly the house seemed to rattle. "Riku's come to visit you!" The brunette turned to Riku once more. "I'm afraid I must leave you now, Riku. I am on a rather strict deadline."

"Yeah, sure."

The mortician bowed gracefully before banging his foot on the floor. Immediately, a two-by-two foot square opened up underneath him and Leon fell into the darkness silently.

Minutes later, Sora came pitter-pattering down the stairs.

"Good afternoon, Riku," he said. "What brings you here?"

"I was just wondering why you haven't been in school lately," the silver-haired teen said. "It's not very good for your grades."

"Ah, Dad and I are very _particular_ to Halloween," Sora said with a thin, dark grin. "It's a very big holiday for us and there is a lot of preparation necessary. Yes. Lots of preparation. Lots of tedious preparation…"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence that ensued before Riku spoke up with a change of subject.

"Well, tomorrow the school's having a Horrorfest and my class is doing this café thing… Namine has a very good recipe for coffee so it shouldn't be so bad and if you're not too busy you can stop by. I'm sure Axel, Demyx and Zexion wouldn't mind giving you a free cup or two."

"I wish I could go, but I'm afraid I'll be quite busy." He tilted his head to the left, a shadowy look on his face and his eyes, like sinister little gems, gleaming.

"Oh."

Sora recognized his crestfallen expression immediately. "But… if you wish it, I suppose I can spare an hour or two."

"Sounds good." Riku felt his lips turn upwards.

"You will be on the waitstaff?"

"Yeah, but I have thirty minute shifts in a coffin outside the classroom. Greeting people," the silver-haired teen explained.

Sora was silent for a while, as if he were waiting for him to say more. "Does that not bother you?" He asked, finally.

"Should it?"

"You're claustrophobic." The mortician's son pointed at him as if to punctuate his statement.

Riku blinked. "How… did you know?"

"That first time we studied together, you avoided going into my dining room. And you evade places that are dark." Sora had noticed it only once during the two weeks he followed the eighteen-year-old. One night Riku had to go to the grocer and the silver-haired teen went down the ally he usually took back home. But then the lights went out and immediately Riku turned heel and went down a well-lit, but more inconvenient, pathway. He also observed that Riku never closed any doors (except for the bathroom door), he often fell behind or walked ahead when he was in groups of four or more (as if he were avoiding becoming closed in) and that he had three door stoppers and a phone book for his single closet door to ensure that it wouldn't close.

There was several seconds of silence, and Sora, sensing his friend's distress, began thinking of something else to say. Riku rubbed his arm, a tell-tale sign of nervousness.

"When I was six," he said, "I was playing hide-and-seek with my friends at my house. I went down to the basement to hide myself in a trunk. While I was pulling the lid down—" The eighteen-year-old raised his hand and clapped it against his head, "—it hit my head hard and I was out cold for about two hours, I think. When I woke up, I realized that I was still in the trunk." He sighed, the rising hairs on his arm barely detectable even to Sora's eyes. "I spent about three hours screaming my lungs out but everyone had thought I went to my neighbor's house or elsewhere and they had gone searching for me. It must have been another three hours until they found me, maybe more." He looked away. "Ax doesn't even know I still have a problem with… that."

Sora jumped to his feet, surprising the elder, and sped up his stairs and disappeared. Riku wondered if he should follow him, but moments later the brunette rushed down and held something out to him.

It was a small flashlight about the size of a pen.

"Perhaps this will be of assistance to you," Sora said. "You can borrow it for tomorrow, but I'd like it back."

The silver-haired teen felt himself smile, and he took the flashlight gratefully. "Thanks."

* * *

[Friday, October 30th.]

Classroom 22-C was already up and about at 7:14 AM, about half an hour earlier than usual for the seniors to set up, because they had more decorations and had to help the waitstaff dress. There was no other classroom setting up in the hallways, perhaps it was because most of them accepted their defeat.

Riku inhaled and exhaled slowly, his vampire costume had been pressed and cleaned to perfection. Axel was dazzling in his dragon costume, his face had patches of expertly painted scales and his hair had been gelled into a sort of Mohawk that resembled the spikes of a dragon's back. His suit was black, though, but had an impeccable sheen to it, like the scales of a reptile.

"You gonna be okay in there?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Riku answered in the most confident voice he could muster. He breathed out and opened the coffin.

The black coffin, which had come in last night, was situated upright in front of the class and was a little small. This did not ease the eighteen-year-old at all, but he didn't want to worry Axel.

"Hey, where is everyone else?" Riku asked the redhead.

"Well, the rest of the waitstaff is still changing, but everyone else is at the student parkinglot getting all the tables from Wakka's truck."

"Ah."

Zexion emerged from the boy's bathroom down the hall, where the boys were changing.

"Can one of you come and help us?" he called to them. "Demyx got stuck in his outfit again."

"_Again?_" The redhead said exasperated. "How in the world does he keep getting caught in that thing?"

Zexion shrugged. Axel sighed and turned to Riku. "I'll go. You stay here."

The redhead proceeded down the hall. "Yuuki was being too nice to him when she let him chose his own costume," he muttered. "We should have never let him dress up as a Zombie-Alien-Siren-'60s-Rock Star!"

Riku stood alone in front of the classroom. He leaned against the coffin and sighed. 'I can do this,' he told himself. 'It's just a box. And I can get out whenever I want to—'

Suddenly a strong-smelling wet cloth clamped over his mouth and nose and a strong arm wrapped over his body and held his arms in place. Riku struggled, realizing instinctively that he should hold his breath as long as he could. He kicked out and tried to scream and make as much noise as possible.

It was no use. Whoever it was held him too tightly, he couldn't break free. …And he was running out of air…

The moment he had to breathe in, everything went black.

* * *

"Hm." Sora tilted his head to the side as he looked at the bare entrance to room 22-C. "This is… deeply concerning," he said.

The brunette walked down the hall and into the boy's restroom, where Axel and Zexion were attempting to pull a saucer-like object down Demyx's body. From what the brunette could gather, Demyx had tried to put the saucer on—it probably meant to go around his waist—but his head got caught in the process. The interesting sight made Sora stop in his tracks and observe for a few moments.

"Sora?" Axel said as he noticed the mortician's son standing there.

"Good morning, Sora," Zexion said and once again tried to tug the costume piece free.

"Sora? Sora's here?" Demyx's muffled voice emanated from the saucer. "Hey Sora!"

"Good morning," Sora mumbled quickly, strode up to Axel, grabbed the redhead's collar and proceeded to drag him out of the bathroom.

"Agh! Sora—wait! What are you doing?" Axel said, trying to keep himself from losing his balance. Because of their significant height difference, the elder was almost bent double as Sora led him along.

"I am in need of your assistance. Something has happened to Riku," the brunette said, finally releasing him. Axel immediately straightened himself and he walked quickly to keep up with Sora's fast pace.

"_What?_ What happened?" He asked.

"I think he's been kidnapped. They've taken the coffin as well." They had stopped in front of the classroom and the shorter teen pointed out the lack of coffin and their silver-haired friend.

"Holy shit!" Axel shouted, seeing the evidence made the situation all the more real.

"Yes. Perhaps that's why…" The brunette turned to him. "Who suggested the café idea? Was it one of your classmates?"

"Yeah."

Sora let out a thoughtful hum. "I don't think it can be one of the classmates…" he mumbled. After several seconds, he titled his head to the side. The mortician's son's eyes narrowed, just a bit. "Your homeroom teacher, I imagine he must have been absent recently?"

Axel blinked. "Yeah."

"And naturally a substitute teacher has come to step in?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Where is he?"

"Down at the parking lot but—"

Sora was already walking there, fast. "Come, we must move quickly," the brunette said. Axel kept up with him.

"But what does that have to do with anything?" the taller asked.

"Several weeks ago, while I was following Riku, I caught sight of a stalker."

"You were following Riku?" the redhead asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"That is beside the point," the smaller boy said swiftly. "I caught the other stalker and questioned him. He said that someone had sent an anonymous typed letter to him requesting him to follow Riku. Cash was enclosed."

"Are you thinking that the same people who sent the stalker have stepped up their game _kidnapped_ him?"

"Precisely," Sora said. "And they're using someone else now. And they've gotten a little bit smarter."

As they reached the parkinglot, Axel immediately pointed out their substitute teacher, who was leaning against a table he had recently unloaded.

"Mr. Pete, is it?" Sora asked.

"Yeah?" Mr. Pete looked up.

"I'd like to speak with you about something, please."

"Uh, sure," the substitute teacher said, eager to catch a break from all the lifting.

"Let's go inside." They walked.

"Say, are you even in my class? I don't remember you," Mr. Pete commented as he gratefully stepped into the hallway.

"No, I'm not," the brunette responded as he continued walking.

"Then who are—"

"I'm here to talk about the student you helped kidnap, sir." Sora turned around sharply when they were several yards into the empty hallway.

Pete went red in the face with fury. "Who the hell are you to accusing me of something like that?"

The brunette's eyes became thin. "At least you're a better liar than the last of you I caught." With a sheen of silver, a nine-inch hunting knife rested at the substitute teacher's throat, who backed away fearfully until he hit the wall. Above them the lights flickered menacingly. Sora continued. "I was merciful enough to let him live, but I may not feel as generous with you."

"Hey, hey, hey, kid, take it easy!" Pete stammered, eyes on the gleaming blade.

"Shut up, Lard Ass!" Axel snapped, motivated by Sora's anger. "You've taken my best friend, now where the hell is he?"

"I don't know!"

Sora slid the blade, underneath the large man's chin. Just enough for a small scratch. Pete hissed in pain.

"Think very hard, then, _sir_," the brunette said. "And please take into account that I am quite pressed for time and I am not a very patient person." He pressed his arm against the substitute teacher's fleshy neck.

"Okay, okay! I remember something!" Pete choked out. "They said that their boss wanted the kid and they gave me cash to have him ready to take!"

"Who is 'they?'" Axel asked.

"They came in black suits. But I recognized the car they came in. It was the car of the guy who owns _The Heartless!_"

"_The Heartless_?" the redhead repeated.

"Do you know of it?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, it's some shady club downtown."

Sora nodded at him then turned to Pete. "And are you telling the truth?" he asked.

"_Yes! _I swear I am!" The large man said desperately.

The brunette eyes search Pete's face for any lies before he was satisfied. "All right," Sora said finally. "Also, Mr. Pete, sir, please make a mental note that if I ever see you again, I will personally tear your face off and shove it down your throat until you choke on it."

The mortician's son struck the substitute's cheek hard with the blunt end of the blade, knocking him unconscious.

"Have you got a car?" Sora asked, turning to Axel and sheathing his knife.

"Yeah," the redhead responded, watching Pete's limp body fall to the floor.

"We will be needing it," the brunette said swiftly as he began to make his way to the student parkinglot at a fast pace, Axel behind him.

"Sora?" the older teen asked.

"Yes, Axel?"

"You're badass."

A dark grin spread on Sora's lips. "Thank you."

* * *

When Riku woke he instantly realized (from the feel of the wood and the cloth beneath him) that he was in the coffin. And that he was in darkness. In tight, confining, suffocating darkness.

It was just like that time.

The silver-haired teen fought to keep his breathing even, against screaming, for several moments.

"Hello?" he called. He pressed his hands against the door. "Hello?" he called louder. "Hello, can somebody hear me! Hello!"

Riku shut his eyes and gulped down some thin air, his chest heaving as a familiar, cold fear crept up his spine. He thought of bringing out Sora's flashlight—stored in his inner coat pocket—and turning it on as comfort, but he realized that doing so would only serve to remind him that he was in a _box,_ it was terrifyingly _dark_ and _there was absolutely no way out._

…And… he was moving. No, he was in a car. Someone was taking him somewhere.

Uselessly, the silver-haired teen desperately tried to wedge his fingers into the sides of the coffin, searching for a way to open it. But it would not—

_budge. Not a single inch. The lid wouldn't lift no matter how hard he tried. Did the trunk lock when it closed? His fingers were starting to hurt. Were they bleeding? _

'_It's so dark... '_

Riku pushed that memory aside. It would not help him here. But it seemed that the more he tried to force his claustrophobia aside it fought back with a mind of its own, bearing more vivid, frightening memories.

"_Someone! Someone please!" He pounded his fists on the narrow walls, screaming._

"_Please!"_

"_Help me! Anyone!"_

'_Please, please, please, someone find me, please, please, please—'_

"Let me out!" Riku shouted suddenly, the terror he had tried so hard to suppress spilling like an unrelenting cold down his spine. "Please, let me out! Someone, please!"

It was almost like he _was_ back in the trunk again, lost in the dark where no one could hear him.

'_Please, please, please, please, I just want to get out. God, please…'_

"_Mother! Father! Please!" _

'_I don't like the dark…'_

'_Please, please, I'm so scared.' _

_Screaming. _

Riku didn't know when he just let loose and just starting to scream. The silver-haired teen banged on the walls, kicking, picking at the lid of the—

_trunk with his fingers until they bled, shouting and crying. It wasn't working. No one could even hear him. His throat was burning—how long had he been—_

Riku did not know how long he lied in the black nothingness screaming.

* * *

"Go straight," Sora said.

"What—why?" Axel began, looking at the brunette from the driver's seat.

"Go straight," Sora repeated.

"Uh, Sora, _Heartless_ is the other way—"

"_Be silent and obey me._" The mortician's son said, turning to him. He said it so quietly, so evenly. Meanwhile's the redhead's radio fluctuated, turning on and off and shifting through different stations. The lights of his car and nearby buildings flickered ominously.

"As you bid, my liege," Axel said, failing to hide a high note of panic in his voice. He kept his eyes on the road.

* * *

There was a loud _thunk!_ of someone kicking the coffin, jerking Riku from his exhausted daze.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Someone, a man, sneered from the outside. "You were so lively earlier! What happened to the screaming?"

Laughter.

They had been outside, Riku realized. They had been outside this entire time and had listened to him cry and writhe!

"You bastards!" The silver-haired teen shouted hoarsely, banging his painfully sore hands against the coffin lid. "Assholes! Let me out! _Let me out of here!_"

The man laughed. "There we go!" he said, cheerfully. "Our boss likes energetic ones like you."

"Did you have to bring him with the box?" Someone else said. "I think the poor kid's claustrophobic."

"Tough luck!" the first man said dismissively to the other man. "The boss likes to have his presents in a nice box."

"I'm not someone's present!" Riku shouted.

"Hey!" The man warned, kicking the coffin again. "No mouthing off about our boss or I'll keep you in there longer, pretty boy!"

"Why don't you open up the coffin and say that to my face, _fucker!"_

There was a roar of laughter from the other kidnappers while another hard kick was dealt to the confining dark box. "Shut up!"

Suddenly Riku felt the car jerk to the right, and his head banged on the side of the coffin. There were noises heard as the men stumbled around him.

"What the hell is going on?" Someone asked loudly, probably to the driver.

* * *

"Stop here," Sora commanded. Axel obeyed, stopping right in the middle of traffic despite the green light. Behind them, cars honked and drivers began to yell. But the redhead feared Sora enough to ignore them.

"It shouldn't be long now," the brunette said.

"What shouldn't be…" Axel began to ask when suddenly a large van came bowling down the street, smashing into several cars and tires screaming away.

"There," Sora said, pointing at the vehicle.

* * *

There was the sharp sound of tires screeching on road. Riku braced himself to keep from hitting the coffin.

"What the _fuck!_"

"Brake! Use the brakes, damn you!"

"_The brakes are gone!_"

Shouting. There was so much shouting now. What was happening?

The coffin moved back and forth, and Riku shifted inside it with the inertia. Suddenly he felt himself the box being thrown out as the car swirled. With a loud, deafening _bang!_ the coffin landed somewhere hard. His head connected with the wooden wall sharply and he saw stars. The wood had bucked and splintered with the force, shedding some weak, gratefully-received light in darkness. The eighteen-year-old fought for consciousness, trying hard to listen.

Someone was calling him.

"Riku!"

"Hey, Riku! Riku!"

He knew those voices. They were so familiar…

* * *

"Riku! _Riku!_" Axel shouted as he pulled away the coffin door. He felt his heart skip a beat as he saw the limp body of his best friend—blood running down the right side of his face—and for one small second he thought for sure he was…

"He's not dead. Look closely, he's still breathing," Sora spoke over the sirens of oncoming firetrucks. He leaned over and pressed two fingers along the silver-haired teen's neck, where his carotid arteries were. "The pulse is weak, but it's there. You should get him to a hospital immediately."

Sora straightened himself and turned to the van, half of which had plowed through a convenience store wall and aflame. Several of the kidnappers had managed to scramble out before collapsing several meters away.

The redhead lifted Riku's body from the coffin. "Wait, aren't you coming?"

The mortician's son turned his back completely to him, flexing and contracting his fingers. "I am afraid not. There are many things I must do. Many tedious things," he said.

One of the kidnappers groggily got to his feet and, seeing them, haphazardly began to escape. Sora followed him with his eyes silently for several moments, whatever was running through his head was unreadable. Then the brunette glanced back at Riku and Axel saw his expression.

It wasn't irritation, it wasn't anger; it was downright, horrifying, pure, unadulterated _fury_.

"I will meet you at the hospital later," Sora said.

* * *

Riku wasn't hearing voices now. Now he was hearing this constant, horrible beeping. What the hell was that beeping? Was it his alarm clock?

Thinking it was time to get up from school, the silver-haired teen raised his hand, searching for the snooze button.

"Riku? Riku!"

Opening his eyes, the silver-haired teen instantly realized that he was in a hospital. And the obnoxious beeping was the sound of the heart monitor.

"Ax… el…? he began. His throat was hurting.

"You're awake!" Axel said happily. "God, I thought you were _never_ going to wake up!"

"What happened? How did I…?" The eighteen-year-old moved to get up but someone stopped him.

"You shouldn't be sitting up for the moment," Sora said.

Riku looked at him wide-eyed. "_Sora?_ What—why—How are you here?"

The brunette sat down on a nearby chair. "To start: I came to steal the coffin from your school so you wouldn't have to use it."

"You were going to steal the coffin?" he repeated.

"It was beautiful piece of work," the mortician's son said dreamily. "Shame it was mangled by the crash."

"The _what_?"

"Allow me to continue, please." Sora began, holding up a hand. "I came to take the coffin, but it was gone and you along with it. You were abducted. Do you remember?"

"Yeah, I do," he said. The waking up in darkness. The people who were outside.

"Apparently a club owner wanted to buy you. Axel and I were able to intercept the kidnapping vehicle before it could reach the club. The car crashed, and the coffin flew out."

"Which is how you got that nasty bruise on your head." Axel pointed to the right side of his head. "The doctors were scared you had a concussion or something."

Riku lifted his hand to scratch the gauze around his head and saw that his fingernails had blood caked on them. He winced at their appearance; they stung when he moved them. It must have been when he was clawing at the door.

Axel and Sora looked at the silver-haired teen's hands grimly.

"You have bruises on your feet and knees too, from kicking," the brunette said. He dropped his gaze. "I should have perceived this. If I had come earlier—"

"No, Sora, it's not your fault," Riku interrupted him. "You couldn't have seen this coming. Look, you _saved_ me. If it wasn't for you, God knows what would have happened. I'm fine now."

"Yes, you are, at least. And you have a possible contusion, three broken nails, ten bloody fingers, two bruised knees and four swelling toes to show for it," he added bitterly. This was the first time either of them had been the brunette so guilt-ridden.

Riku and Axel looked at each other, grasping to find what words to say.

"But it's okay now, I suppose," Sora said suddenly, drawing their attention to him. "I fixed the problem. It shouldn't happen again."

The silver-haired teen knew he had heard him say those words before. Or something along those lines somewhere a while back…

"_Do you want me to fix it?"_

Riku's eyes went wide.

"Sora," he said slowly, "what exactly do you mean by—"

"Ah, I'm afraid I must go down to the cafeteria and eat. I am quite famished," the brunette said suddenly. "Excuse me." And he turned and left without another word, the flickering lights following after him.

"_Breaking news!"_ The TV announced suddenly. The silver-haired teen jumped, he hadn't noticed the TV in his room before. _"A local night club, _The Heartless_, has suddenly caught fire. The owner, Xehanort, has also been arrested under several charges of kidnapping, prostitution and drug smuggling and will be facing court in…"_

Axel gulped. "Riku, can I ask you something?" he said with his eyes still on the TV.

"Sure, Ax. Shoot."

"Does Sora control the universe?" he asked in a hushed, frightened whisper.

"I honestly think he does," Riku whispered back.

* * *

**Mr. Peter Pete. I hope all you Disney fans can recognize who he is. **

**Action-packed chapter, eh? Kidnapping, alternative interrogation techniques, crashes and explosions and taking down evil club owners. I hoped you guys enjoyed it. I get really nervous writing action scenes, but I do try my best. **

**As always, please review. And see you all next chapter!**

—_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I'm a month behind our month and that makes me sad. But that's fine. -_- Anyways, Happy New Year, Everyone!**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

_Chapter 7: The Boy Who Was Born in November_

"I can write it for you," Sora said.

"No," Riku replied, wincing as he rotated the pencil gingerly with his fingers. "Thanks, but I have to do this myself."

"I think your anatomy teacher will forgive you if you explain that you couldn't do your homework because your fingers were injured and ludicrously wrapped." It was true. Due to his injuries, the silver-haired teen's hands were bandaged so profusely that his hand resembled a mitten. "I honestly think that there's no need for that much gauze on your hands," the brunette said.

Riku laughed. "I'm fine, Sora."

"So when are you getting out of the hospital, Riku?" Roxas asked. He was sitting on one of two visitors' chairs. He had come by to check on him along with Axel, who brought the silver-haired teen's homework.

"The nurses wanted to discharge me tonight, but my dad made them keep me for another night so they can watch me." The eighteen-year-old sighed. "I _told_ him I'm fine."

"Good afternoon!" Leon said as he entered the room, cladded in a charcoal-black suit.

"Mr. Leonha—Leon," Riku corrected himself.

"Hey, Dad," Sora said.

The moment the words left the bruentte's lips both Roxas and Axel's eyes widened. They had never seen the mortician himself and had thought he would be much more… menacing. Surprisingly, he looked less threatening than Sora did, but that might be just because he was swinging a large basket filled entirely with chocolate-covered pretzels.

"Good afternoon to you, too, Roxas, Axel," Leon turned to each of them as he spoke their name and bowed. Meanwhile the two wondered how he knew their names. "Sora has told me all about you! He is so happy to have so many friends."

"That's great," Axel said. "It's nice to meet you too, sir."

"Do call me, 'Leon,'" Leon said, striding forward and shaking the redhead's hand, then Roxas'. He turned to Riku, holding out the basket of treats. "For you, Riku. Please get well soon. I do hope you love chocolate-covered pretzels."

"I love them, Leon," the silver-haired teen said quickly and took the treats. He didn't really know what he was going to do with this large amount of pretzels, but he did appreciate Leon's thoughtfulness.

"Unfortunately, this is the extent of my visit as I must be going," the brunette said. "There is a body in my car that must be buried."

Though Riku, Axel, and Roxas figured that Leon probably meant that he was transporting a body to a funeral, his choice of words sent a shiver down their spine.

"Sora, please remember to lock all the doors," mortician reminded.

"Okay, Dad."

Leon bowed once more to them and turned abruptly, almost walking into another blonde man who had just entered the room.

"Oh, sorry!" the man said.

"Ah, no, it's my…" Leon caught a full view of the man's face, "…my…" He trailed off. Sharp cheekbones, blue eyes, peachy skin

'_Beautiful…_' In what seemed like a long moment, it felt like waves were crashing on a beach, fireworks were exploding and an earthquake was decimating some small island in the sea all at the same time and all inside Leon's heart. 'So very beautiful…' he thought.

Sora glanced at his father, tilting his head to one side curiously.

The man waited for the mortician to finish, but seeing as that wasn't going to happen soon he spoke up.

"Well, I suppose it's both our faults then," he said with a little chuckle. "My name is Cloud Strife and I'm Roxas' father. It's nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

Leon was too engrossed in Cloud's face to even register than he had offered a handshake, or even spoke for that matter. In fact, he hadn't heard anything the man said beyond his name.

"Dad," Sora called. "_Dad._"

"Oh, so sorry!" Leon said, woken from his daze, and he enthusiastically shook Cloud's hand. "My name is Squall Leonhart, but please call me Leon. I am Sora's father. I just stopped by to drop off something for Riku as a token of good health."

"Then we're here for the same reason then," the blonde man said. He held up a package no one noticed before. "I brought cake. Blueberry and banana yogurt, whole-wheat cake and topped with a bit of flaxseed."

He strode forward and placed the gift into Riku's hands. Roxas rolled his eyes a little at his father's health food, firmly set that if cake was healthy for you, it wasn't cake.

"Thanks, Mr. Strife," the silver-haired teen said.

"You're welcome, Riku. Hope you get better soon," he sighed, "and sadly that's all I can say for now. I've got an appointment with a man who says he involuntarily slaps himself in…" he checked his watch and sucked in his breath sharply "…ten minutes."

He turned to his son, speaking quickly. "Roxas, I've got to go now. I'll be home late, lock the doors, keep the kitchen light on, _please_ don't forget to feed Red—" he ruffled his son's hair as fast as he was talking, "—remember to feed yourself, do your homework and as always you can call me at anytime. Riku, Axel, it was nice to see you again and—" by this time Cloud was already out the door and shouting as he went down the hall, "—Leon and Sora it was nice to finally meet you both!" And he said all of this in one breath.

Leon did not move from his spot for several seconds. "Excuse me," he said suddenly and swiftly walked out the door.

"Hm," Sora said after a while. "Interesting…"

"What's interesting, Sora?" Riku asked, picking up his first Get-Well-Soon gift and eating the pretzels.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Nothing in particular."

Knowing better than to question any further, the silver-haired teen held up the gift basket Leon had given him. "Chocolate covered pretzels, anyone?" he asked.

* * *

The month of November came without so much as a shudder. Honestly, hardly anyone in Twilight Town paid attention to November. The superstores bypassed Thanksgiving completely, having setting up their Christmas decorations already.

However, the quiet and slowly cooling atmosphere suited Riku just fine after he had got out of the hospital. His fingers were doing better so he was able to write more effectively. Obviously, the entire school had heard of his abduction during Horrorfest, which set the hallways abuzz with murmurs and 'oohs' and 'aahs' everytime he walked through them.

Sora, Riku noticed, was going throughout the day without the oogling eyes, whispers and recognition. At first the silver-haired teen thought that perhaps he should say something, after all, he did owe Sora his life. But after a few moments of thought, he realized that the reclusive brunette would prefer it this way.

"Sora, can I talk to you for a minute?" Roxas asked one day between the lunch and 6th period break.

"Yes, of course," the brunette said.

Riku watched them both go to the boy's bathroom curiously. He had never seen Roxas want to speak with Sora by himself before. What could they be talking about?

Once in the bathroom, the blonde checked every stall before facing Sora.

"My dad has a date with your dad on friday," he said, finding himself eyeing the flickering-lights phenomenon that occurred everywhere the brunette went.

"I am aware of that. Dad informed me last night," Sora said. "I was wondering when Dad was going to do that. He likes your father a lot."

"He… does?"

"Yes." The mortician's son nodded.

There was silence that fell between them. Mostly due to Roxas' part because he had difficulty trying to word what he wanted to say.

"I'm sorry if I'm being rude or anything," the blonde said. "I'm just a little concerned, but—um—your dad is… nice?"

"Yes, Dad is very courteous," Sora said. "I'm actually quite happy. I've been concerned about Dad being lonely for a while now. And your father is very nice, as well?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Roxas said enthusiastically. "But I'm just worried. 'Cause Dad's very serious about his work and it doesn't really leave him time to be very, um, affectionate—not that he isn't!" he said quickly, waving his hands frantically. "It's just that a lot of people he went out with in the past left because he spent too much time working."

"I suppose we'll just have to see." The brunette tilted his head to the right. "I'm also very nervous as well."

* * *

As the week wore on, Riku noticed a particular depression in Sora's demeanor. The mortician's son was quieter than usual, and he didn't attempt to talk about normal topics or even slip in a dark, dismal tidbit about random things.

"You seem to be really distracted lately," Riku commented during their Friday study hour.

Sora, who had been gradually picking off a splatter of blood-colored paint on his floor with his nail for the last forty-five minutes, didn't even look up.

"I apologize," he said.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No," the brunette said, though his tone was evidence to the contrary. "There are just a lot of things on my mind."

"Oh." The elder fell silent. "Do you want to do something else?"

"No, this is fine."

Riku wondered if he should push further. Thinking on it once more, the silver-haired teen got to his feet.

"Come on," he said.

"Huh?" Sora looked up. "Is it time for you to go already, Riku?"

"No, but we're going out," the eighteen-year-old said confidently.

"We are?"

"Yeah. Right now." He took the brunette's hand.

* * *

'Oh, _Lord_…'

Dr. Cloud Strife watched—completely mortified—as Leon added not one, not two, but _twelve _sugar packets into his Sprite. Sure, they were Splenda, but even _that_ amount of sweet flavoring was too much for the doctor to think about. Even if it _was_ processed false sugar that could give you cancer instead of real sugar that can give you diabetes.

Leon took a sip from his Sprite and sighed happily. The blonde felt his stomach turn.

'He must have taste buds like steel!' Cloud thought.

The mortician glanced at him. "Is there something the matter?" he asked.

"U-uh—um, no! Nothing at all!" The blonde tried to hide his nervousness by taking a sip of his slightly sweetened tea. He took this moment to divert the conversation. "I was actually really surprised that you asked me out. How did you know I liked men?"

"Your cooking skills are impeccable," Leon answered simply.

"So I'm able to feed myself without a woman or charring food, kitchen appliances or people and so automatically I'm gay?" Cloud said with a crooked grin.

"That's completely incorrect. You're bisexual," the mortician said.

"Okay, I want to know how you knew that."

"Your son's existence, obviously. You either had to have been heterosexual for at least one moment to conceive him. Or excessively inebriated. But I don't believe you drink." Leon smiled. "Bisexuality was the most probable."

"And what about _your _son? Sora, right?"

"Yes." The brunette nodded. "That is his name."

"You're his... father, then?"

"I did raise him, if that's what you mean." Leon leaned forward. "But he's not my biological son."

"So you adopted him?"

"Yes, his mother and I were childhood friends."

"Were…?" Cloud repeated the word with a weight of dread.

"You're perceptive," the brunette said with a sad smile. "Today is actually the anniversary of her death."

* * *

While sitting in one of the four Starbucks Coffee places of Twilight Town, Riku realized that he really wasn't one who could deal with silence. As he sat in front of Sora, who was stirring his straw into his vanilla frappuccino (most likely ordered in an attempt to please the silver-haired teen), he had this incredible and annoying urge to speak about the most arbitrary things. Like how he discovered coffee at the age of five, and how the caffeine easily penetrated his feeble child-mind and gave him the weirdest thoughts, such as microwaving things. And because the coffee also nuked his impulse control, five-year-old Riku nearly met his untimely passing at the hands of his own father when it was discovered that he had microwaved a pack of carrots, a cell phone, a calculator, his mother's beauty cream, an earth worm, precisely one-hundred and twenty five gummi bears and two empty _Doritos _bags to oblivion.

"Thanks for the coffee," Sora said, interrupting the silver-haired teen's thoughts.

"No prob," Riku said. "It's good to just get your head out of the books for a while."

"Mm," the brunette agreed with a little nod.

Silence.

The eighteen-year-old had to physically bite his tongue to keep from asking Sora what was wrong. For about thirty minutes they sat across from one another without a word, which drove Riku to the brink of insanity as he forced himself to stay quiet. Pushing the younger into telling him of his problems might bring Sora to keep his thoughts to himself.

* * *

"Appromixately seventeen years ago, Rinoa was pregnant with Sora. She went into labor and her husband drove her to the hospital and…" Leon paused. "It was raining. The police figured that their car had stopped too suddenly and spiraled out of control. Rinoa survived for about another hour, long enough for them to save Sora and call me." The brunette looked elsewhere. "Rinoa was an orphan, there was no family close enough to take care of him, so I did."

"And does Sora… know this?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. And I regret telling him," Leon said sadly. The mortician laced his hands in front of him and leaned forward, shaking his head.

"He didn't cry, or frown, or anything, but I knew that it had effected him in some way," he continued. "But he never spoke of it. I think he believes he caused his parent's death and that guilt should be shared by no one else but himself. That made me worry about him constantly. He was always alone, even during preschool, Sora never had any friends to begin with because he was… well…" A wry small crept on Leon's face, "like me." The mortician fondly recalled a memory when Sora's preschool teacher called his house in hysterics because the class had a play-dough for play time and while the other children were making hamburgers and pancakes and animals, his son was dutifully crafting a cemetery complete with headstones with the names of his classmates and the dates of their deaths. And many of the children were crying because they would never live to be older than twelve.

"He has been getting better over the years. But particularly around the time of Rinoa's death, Sora becomes very glum. I'm not sure if he's noticed it as much as I have. He doesn't realize that load can be shared, or lifted. But I think… that his newfound friends can help. I have hope," Leon smiled, "that Riku will be able to guide him to a place where he can lay that burden to rest."

* * *

"I'm afraid I have to go, Riku," Sora said, sitting up suddenly. "Thank you for the coffee."

"All right," the silver-haired teen said, his tongue sore from the biting.

They exited the Starbucks without another word.

"Sora?" Riku asked.

"Yes?"

"I don't mean to pry, but…" he bit his lip. "Sora, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I—"

"Do you really think you can say it's nothing when you look so down?" The eighteen-year-old moved closer, facing him. "Look, I understand if you don't want to tell me, but I can't stand to see you like this. I can't shake the feeling that I shouldn't leave you alone tonight. Like you're going to do something crazy."

Surprisingly, a smile—not the gaunt, thin, psychotic little grin, but a true smile—broke across the brunette's face. "No, I'm not going to do anything. It's just that today…" Suddenly a crash of thunder shattered the quiet night and moments later rain began to fall.

Riku flinched at the cold water. "Maybe we should go inside?" He suggested.

Sora didn't seem to have heard him, he was looking up at the sky with an expression the silver-haired teen couldn't figure.

"Sora!"

The mortician's son looked at him. "Hm? Did you say something, Riku?" as he asked this the rain began to pour harder, drowning out his voice.

Riku grabbed his hand. "Come on!" and he began to run.

"Where are we going?"

"My house! It's closer!"

* * *

"Thank you for joining me for dinner," Leon said with a smile. "It was lovely."

"No, it wasn't…" Cloud said miserably. "In two hours I prodded into your personal, _personal _life—a completely 'no-no' on first dates—made you recall the death of your best friend and your guilt towards her son and only living connection to her. This is terrible. All of this could have been avoided if I hadn't been so busy. I mean, of all the nights I managed to free up it happens to be the anniversary of your best friend's death. _And _it's raining. I _suck_. I totally suck. I'm the worst—"

The mortician cut him off with a swift kiss. The blonde felt his cheeks flare instantly. "You're attractive when you talk excessively, but you shouldn't be so ready to blame yourself," Leon said. "If I wasn't prepared for the consequences I would have never have told you, Cloud. I had a great time tonight. Shall I walk you to your car?"

Cloud felt his temperature skyrocket at the show of gentlemanliness and courtesy. "S-sure," he said.

* * *

"Thank you," the Sora said, rubbing his hair vigorously with a towel as he exited the silver-haired teen's bathroom. He glanced about Riku's room, appropriately acting as if he had never been inside this room before.

"You're welcome," the eighteen-year-old said. "Do you need to call your Dad?"

"It's fine. He's out today."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Several quiet seconds passed, Sora not entirely sure on what was supposed to happen next. He had never been formally invited into someone's house before, and it wasn't like Riku would allow him to go home in the rain. Meanwhile, the elder scratched his head as nonchalantly as he could. Perhaps they should play a video game? Riku had been meaning to show Sora _Assassin's Creed _for a while now.

"Is there something the matter?" Sora asked, catching the sign of nervousness.

"Ah—no!" the silver-haired teen said quickly. "I was just thinking of what to do, is all… Uh, do you want to try one of my video games?"

"Yes, that would be fun."

The mortician's son's eyes lit up the moment Riku made his character sneak up behind a guard and kill him with a stab from the extendable hidden blade. Three hours of gameplay later, the silver-haired teen discovered that Sora was just as adept in ruling over video games as he did in real life. The brunette giggled madly as he struck down anything and anyone in his path with much more efficiency than Riku ever could.

"Look, Riku! He's dead!" Sora said the first time he made the character silently leap onto an unsuspecting guard and slaughter him.

"Heeheehee… I killed him!"

"Die, die, die!"

"Yes, fall at my feet! Die! _Die for me!_"

Even though the silver-haired teen knew that people shouldn't be _this_ happy while killing humans (even if they were pixel renderings of humans), he was glad to see Sora so chipper again. He felt a smile tug on his lips as he watched the brunette, who was sitting with his legs crossed, two feet from his TV and xbox controller held tight to his chest, eyes trained on the screen and completely engrossed in blood, carnage, gore and destruction he wielded with a press of the button.

At one o' clock though, Riku felt it was time to let Sora stop before his eyes fell from the sockets.

"All right, Sora, let's call it a night."

Even though the brunette didn't want to, he handed the controller over and stretched.

"Maybe you can ask your dad to get you an xbox for your birthday," the silver-haired teen suggested.

"Hm," Sora murmured, thinking. "Perhaps."

Riku went into his closet and got an extra pillow and blanket.

"Unfortunately, I can't find another sleeping bag, and we don't have a spare room because Dad wanted to use it to store his weapons so we're going to have to share the bed," the silver-haired teen turned. "Is that all right?"

Immediately, Sora's shoulders irked and, for the first time ever, Riku saw the faintest of red blushes color the brunette's cheeks.

"It's a little small, but I don't think it'll be that cramped," the eighteen-year-old continued as he arranged Sora's pillow and blanket next to his on the bed before getting in.

The younger clambered onto the bed—careful to stay on his side—and pulled the sheet over himself.

"'Night, Sora," Riku said, yawning as he turned over so that he was on his right side, his habitual position of sleeping, and facing the brunette.

"Good night, Riku," Sora replied, glancing at him once before turning his eyes to the ceiling in contemplation. He then brought the covers up to his chin and snuggled underneath them, several spikes of brown hair poking from the top of the blanket. The silver-haired teen laughed a little before shutting his eyes.

"…Hey, Riku?" came Sora's voice after several seconds of silence.

"Mm-hm?"

"Thanks. For today, that is."

"No problem, Sora."

* * *

_Side Story: The Mortician's Preschool Son! Coloring Time!_

* * *

"Okay, class. Listen, listen!" Miss White, the teacher of Twilight Town's _Little Stars Daycare_, announced.

"Yes, Miss White." The class responded in unison.

"Today is about your parents," Miss White said. "I want you all to take a piece of paper and draw what your parents do at work. Now, there's only one box per table, so all of you need to share. When you're done you're all going to present your pictures and talk about them to the class."

"Yes, ma'am!" came the collective reply.

About on hour later, Miss White was going through each tables and each child stood up and talked about their picture.

Sora Leonhart, second in line in Table 6, straightened himself and raised his picture, which had an obscene amount of red on it.

"My father cuts into dead bodies," he said. (Little Sora didn't know the exact name of his father's profession.) "First, he slits their throat, like this—" he mimed the action with a pair of safety scissors, "—and he drains their blood into these buckets. Blood is very pretty. The body's organs are also very, very squishy. I like poking them. My favorite organ to poke is the pancreas because it's very soft. Hee…" A dark little grin cracked along his childish face. Meanwhile, the classroom's pet hamster, Giggles, was squeaking and squealing loudly, and the lights began to flicker.

His fellow classmates were staring at him, all slack-jawed and wide-eyed. The teacher had dropped her pencil, her face ashen and her lower lip trembling in horror.

Seeing as the teacher wasn't stopping him, Sora continued. "Sometimes the bodies aren't always in one piece, so Dad has to put them back together." The small brunette pulled his lips back, making his smile all the wider. "It's quite interesting. But the organs can become so very troublesome. They keep falling out and Dad always has difficulty shoving them back into the corpse as they won't stay put."

Aside from Giggles and the flickering lights, the entire room was silent.

"That is all I have to say. Thank you for listening," Sora said, bowing a little before settling back into his seat.

* * *

**Has anyone here ever felt a pancreas? I've felt a cat's before. And it was **_**so **_**squishy! They should market them as pillows! Okay, they shouldn't. But pancreases are very neat to touch! If anyone gets a chance to poke one, go for it! **

**Pretty boring chapter... I was really nervous while I was writing this chapter because my history with more serious chapters hasn't exactly been extravagant. My true element is humor, which totally sucks because even an idiot can pull humor out of his ass. Crafting seriousness is an art, people, it really is. And I mangle it so horribly. (Deep sigh.)**

**Enter Cloud Strife, the esteemed doctor. Yay! He's supposed to be the opposite of Leon in as much ways I can manage. They're both quite chipper, though. But of course, their professions put Cloud in the line of saving lives while Leon places them in the ground. He's always rushing. Leon, in contrast, is going to be very chilled. (I haven't written a lot about it, but he is.) **

**Yeah, I'm branching into multi-pairings now. Sorry, everyone. It might be boring…. I hope it doesn't annoy you too badly… _ Actually, there's not going to be much CloudxLeon action. Honestly, the only reason why Cloud existed was so I could get around to the story of Sora's birth. :P I knew I could have had Sora tell it to Riku, but I wanted it to be told by Leon, who knows Sora the best. Sora's the kind of person who'll put troubles on himself, isn't he? He wouldn't tell Riku what's bothering him because he doesn't want to worry him or he believes that problem is his alone. **

**Oh, and it's totally official, no smut's gonna happen. *half of the readers leave* O_o. (OH, NOOOO!) Yeah, it's not gonna work out, people. Like, Riku and Sora **_**are **_**gonna go the distance and get together eventually. **_**That**_** I can be sure of, but it's like, shonen-ai. I've been offered some tactics for yaoi but I don't like them. If anyone wants to submit any thoughts, go crazy. I don't believe this story calls for any smut the way it's going, so any physical romantic approach has to be very delicate and very intuned to this Riku and Sora's nature. What that nature is exactly I've yet to figure out but any thoughts I have on this version of Riku and Sora having physical, explicit sex does not match up.**

**As always, please review. See you all next chapter! **

—_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Yeah, no Christmas fic. It's too late everyone. Maybe I'll do one as a bonus next Christmas (assuming this fic lasts this long, I don't really know.)**

**For all of you non-**_**Wallflower **_**fans—and all those **_**Wallflower **_**fans who haven't noticed—the title for this chapter mirrors a chapter from the manga, **_**Wallflower**_** (my base inspiration for this story), titled "The Hazardous Return of Valentine's Day." Well, obviously this is the first time we've gone through Valentine's Day with this fic, so a change in title was needed. I LOVE THAT CHAPTER in **_**The Wallflower**_**. It is—without doubt—my favorite chapter in the manga series so far. Hahaha. **

_**Oh, and FYI for those who aren't aware:**_** In Japan, on Valentine's Day girls give the boys they like chocolate.**

**Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

_Chapter 8: The Hazardous Arrival of Valentine's Day_

[February 10]

"Axel, these are cookies," Roxas said, staring at the treats, which he had brought out from his backpack.

"Brilliant deduction, Roxas. You've the makings of a detective," Axel teased as he continued to eat today's lunch, chili.

"No, Axel, you don't understand. _My Dad_ made these cookies," Roxas said.

"And?"

"There're no pistachios or flaxseed or strange healthy things at all. This is just a plain, chocolate chip cookie! There's nothing healthy about this cookie at all! Dad _never _does that!"

"You know what, Roxas? I think you're right," Tidus said, looking at the treat incredulously.

Though Roxas figured that it might be because his and Sora's fathers' dates were running remarkably well—more than remarkably well, judging by the state of the cookie—he decided not to share this tidbit with his friends and stuffed the baked good into his mouth.

Sora smiled almost imperceptibly at the start of the conversation. Meanwhile, Riku, Zexion, Axel, and Demyx were eying the brilliant and flashy Valentine's Day decorations (which had been set up today) with a mixture of hate, annoyance, and fear.

"I'm stocking up on pepperspray," Demyx said in a low voice. "And I've got a taser just in case."

"I thought those were illegal to own, Dem. But anyway, I'm seriously thinking of carrying one of my father's swords with me this year," Riku said. "Considering what happened to you and Rox last year."

Demyx's eyes went wide as he remembered the horror. Axel winced. "I remember that," the redhead said. "Roxas still hates teddy bears."

"I'm not even going to leave my house," Zexion said from his book.

"That won't work, Zexy, they'll still find you," Demyx said.

"Maybe we should stick together this year?" Axel suggested.

"Yeah, Ax, let's cluster together into a mass, moving target," Riku said. "It'll make us all easier to spot. _Awesome._"

"There's no need for sarcasm, Riku..."

To begin, Valentine's Day was not a day for beautiful, single, young males, whatever the age-group, especially for Riku, Axel, Demyx, Zexion, and Roxas. Not in this day and age. Not in_ this_ school. It was a day of terror, far more so than Halloween and much more cleverly disguised.

The hype of Valentine's Day set off a sort of modern-day, warped man-hunt rather than the usual, commercialized sweetness. Girls—and boys—coming at their intended (which included one or more of the aforementioned, sadly single males along with a few other unfortunate souls), bearing sweets and chocolates to mask their dark nature, when in reality these admirers would go to psychotically great lengths just to have them sample their chocolate or talk to them if they could. _Yes._ Just to have them eat their chocolate or start a bit of chatter. The funny thing was that _right after_ the day, and through the remainder of the year, these admirers behaved so normally, so _sane_. There must be something about Valentine's Day that flipped some sort of inner psycho switch that makes them do all sorts of scary things.

The events of last year on the dreaded day were as followed: Roxas was nearly carried off by a girl who chased him down in a teddy bear suit (a not-so-well thought-out plan to lure the blonde closer to her). Axel was mobbed by girls attempting to shove their treats down his throat, which quickly got out of control and ended in the redhead half-dazed with a little less than half his clothing left. Zexion shut himself in a locker (desperation made one do crazy things) but was eventually found, the locker wrenched open with an axe located next to a nearby fire hose for fire safety and was dragged out. Demyx was doomed from the start, having walked onto campus completely oblivious of what day it was and was swarmed with girls and never seen until after school, where he was found in the girls' bathroom in the fetal position, shirtless, quivering and covered with chocolate ("they took my shirt, they took my shirt" he was muttering over and over again). Riku—who often received the worst of the day—actually got sort of creative and tried to fake his own death by pretending to accidentally bang his head on the edge of a desk until he discovered that _even if he was dead they would still try to force him to eat their chocolates _(and steal his clothes, and cut off bits of his hair, and take his cell phone and other personal items for memoirs, and fight over who would take his corpse to whose house.)** [1]**

"We should've hooked up with somebody this year," Axel said, more to himself. "Maybe we'd be better off."

Riku sighed. "Well, at least it's the last year for us," he looked to Demyx, Zexion and Axel.

"You know, why don't you use that old rumor about you and Sora, Riku?" Axel suggested.

Sora, who was in the process of swallowing today's lunch, choked and coughed to clear his airway. Riku shot a dirty look at the redhead.

"Kidding, kidding! I was just kidding! Sorry, Sora! _Please don't kill me_," Axel muttered the last sentence under his breath.

"Is Valentine's Day so terrible for you?" The mortician's son asked Riku once he recovered.

"You have no idea…" the elder said.

"I could be of some assistance to you," Sora suggested.

"No, it's all right, Sora." The silver-haired teen felt that because of their study sessions (and the fact that Sora saved his life on Halloween) asking for the brunette's help would be too much. "I can handle myself."

"Then allow me to recommend that you should take your hidden extendable knife. It will prove invaluable."

This brought all eyes toward Riku, who hadn't informed them of Sora's gift.

"Oh, that's right, you're not planning on killing any of them," the mortician's son said after a thoughtful moment. "I retract my previous statement. You should bring a bat and aim for their legs. But you must consider a knife of some sort. I've been hearing the girls talk about trip wires, nets and rope lately. And they were mentioning some sort of hidden pit in front of the boys' restroom on the first floor. Prepare yourself."

* * *

[February 14. 1:02 AM]

Sora poured another 3/4ths of cocoa powder into the bowl and began to mix as he listened to Yersinia's instructions. The dummy was stationed on the kitchen counter, a book in his hands opened to the page, Valentine's Day Chocolate.

"And you're sure it says three-fourths?" Sora asked, glancing at the dummy.

…

"Okay," the brunette nodded. "Just making sure."

… … …

"Add sugar? All right. Can you pass it to me?"

Yersinia did.

"Thanks." Sora poured ½ cup of powdered sugar into the mix.

…

… …

…

"Yeah, I hope this batch doesn't turn out like the last one. Thanks again for helping me, Yersinia."

…

… … …

Sora's cheeks flushed. "Do you really think he will?" he asked.

"Sora, it's one o' clock in the morning. What is it you and Yersinia are doing at this hour?" Leon asked, popping in from a secret passage hidden in a cabinet in their kitchen.

"Cooking, Dad," his son replied, holding out the bowl of chocolate he was stirring.

"Oh, you're making Valentine's Day chocolate!" The mortician cried happily. "Is it for Riku?"

Sora turned a deep shade of red. "I-I'm still thinking on it!" he stammered. "It's… I just—I… thought it would be nice."

"It _is_ nice, Sora," his father said, placing a hand on his shoulder with a smile. "Speaking of which, I should make some for Cloud…" he added casually.

The small brunette nodded, then he turned to the mortician. "Actually, Dad, I need your help."

"Happy to oblige, son! What is it you need?"

"Well," Sora pulled out a baking tray from their fridge. "I keep trying to get the chocolates into heart shapes, but they keep morphing into something else. Have a look." The smaller brunette turned the tray to him. There were ten chocolates lined in two columns of five, all of which were shaped distinctly like skulls. Leon looked at this, very intrigued.

"Hearts, you say?" he said.

"Yes, I put them into the refrigerator as hearts, I turn around to take them out minutes later and they've turned into this. It's very odd. Yersinia and I can't quite explain how it happens." Sora tilted his head to the left curiously.

Leon tilted his head in the exact same fashion. "Astounding," he murmured, taking a chocolate and biting into it. "They taste lovely, though, Sora."

On Valentine's Day, Riku met Axel at the school gates. A hammer—more for show than attack—was in the silver-haired teen's pocket along with a screwdrive

* * *

r and his backpack only contained a few protein bars and a waterbottle for a light lunch. The taller was wearing his best running shoes and decided to abandon his backpack for today. He was obviously relying on outrunning his admirers.

"Riku," the redhead said, nodding at him like a man about to run head-on into his demise.

"Axel," the shorter acknowledged.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day," Riku parroted.

"Why do we have to go to school?" Axel let his head fall back and whined.

"Because they'd find us in our homes anyway, Ax. You know that."

The redhead let out a thoughtful hum. "Right," he said. "Well, good luck, Riku. Give 'em hell, kid." He took off running.

"You're not even going to go to class?" The shorter called after him.

"Nope. Not even. That's what they'd expect!"

Riku gulped and walked into the building, determined that he should try to continue school as normally as possible.

Minutes after walking down the halls, the silver-haired teen began to figure that perhaps Axel had the right thinking. Many chocolate-clutching girls were watching him, _circling him_ even, like ravenous hell-hounds. They were waiting—waiting for the admirer who would make the first move. Then…

The eighteen-year-old walked into his class, trying to keep his breathing even. The males (including the teacher) were eyeing him with dread, as if waiting for a slow-motion car crash to occur. Riku slid into his seat, fisting the hammer in his pocket and wishing he had taken Sora's advice and brought the bat. Not that he was going to use it because he would never hit a girl, or anyone for that matter, but it would certainly make him feel braver in this situation.

And then it started. A minute before class began, one girl, a usually shy girl in the corner of the class, rose from her desk with a small, colorfully-wrapped box of chocolates and began making her way towards him.

Riku knew what must be done. He bolted out of his seat just as the rest of the girls—and homosexual boys—rallied up, chocolates in one hand and the other clawing out to grab him.

"Riku! Riku Yorushi eat my chocolate!" One screeched.

"No, mine! PLEASE EAT MINE!" Another cried.

"Rikuuuu!"

They came crashing into his desk, legs flailing, chocolate boxes and bodies thrown everywhere. The silver-haired teen barely escaped. He all but flew out the open window in his classroom, threw himself at a convenient tree located nearby and began to climb to the next story. Riku had already thought of an escape plan. He was going to head into the nearest room and then, using the screwdriver he carried with him, open the air vent and wait out the day in the air conditioning system.

The silver-haired teen reached the next story up and immediately went into the nearest classroom and set to work. Within minutes he was in the air vent and settled down on his stomach to rest. Riku was fairly certain that he would be safe here. The only problem was that the loose air vent might be discovered and therefore foil his plan, but he managed to maneuver a poster in front of the tampered vent to hide it.

For hours Riku lied in the air conditioning system. He was cold, but he didn't mind. The small capacity of the vent didn't even seem to bother him either, and he felt a little proud of himself for partially overcoming his claustrophobia (though it might be due to the unconventional flooding **[2]** he endured during Halloween.) He seldom moved for fear that his movements might be heard.

As he waited, Riku was able to catch what was happening in the hallways. He had heard Axel running with a large group of admirers at his heels, several other girls were looking for Zexion—he hadn't been found yet, that was good—and Roxas was walking in the hallways nervously.

About an hour later, Riku heard the sound of someone climbing into the vents and he froze. If he tried to escape it would just attract attention to himself due to the noise he'd inevitably make. He listened as the person slowly came closer. Riku felt his muscle ache - they were so tense, and he was hardly breathing. As quietly as he could, he found his footing in the vent, ready to leave the moment he was spotted.

To his surprise, it was Demyx. He was comically scrunched in the vent since his shoulders were wider than Riku's and he had a can of pepper spray in one hand with his index finger poised.

"_Dem?_" Riku whispered as quietly as a he could.

"_Riku?_" The mullet-mohawked teen whispered back. "Wow, so I guess we got the same idea, huh?"

"Yeah—" The eighteen-year-old cut himself off as he heard a pack of girls walk down the hallway. He edged closer to Demyx quietly.

"We have to be quiet," he said, softer than ever. "They can hear us."

Demyx nodded. "Um, but one thing, Riku," the mullet-mohawked teen began in his quietest whisper, "have you—uh—have you seen Zexy around?"

"Zex? No. Haven't seen him all day. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Demyx answered a little too quickly. "Just wondering how he was doing."

Riku raised a brow and was about to question him further when he smelled something. Something that sent chills down his spine.

…_Chocolate._

"Dem, do you smell that?" The silver-haired teen spoke quietly.

Demyx's eyes went wide as he recognized the smell. They listened harder and heard the sound of someone shuffling through the vents.

They waited—terrified—and hoped that perhaps whoever-it-was would pass without noticing them.

But no, the sounds were coming closer, the scent of chocolate becoming stronger.

"I know they're here…" came a wispy feminine voice. "I know… I can feel it…"

Demyx and Riku exchanged horrified glances, each wondering if they should flee right now.

And then a small girl's hand appeared from behind Demyx and the two friends crawled as fast as they could.

"_I've found them!_" cried the girl.

They moved rapidly, Riku moving backwards because the vent was too small for him to turn around and Demyx moving forwards. From the silver-haired teen's view he saw that there were several girls on their trail.

"Dem, we have to move!" Riku said, pushing all his energy into his arms and legs. But Demyx, who had never been very athletic, was falling behind.

"I can't—I can't, Riku!" he said, almost whimpering. "I can't go as fast as you—_AAAH!_" He let out a high-pitched scream, nails scratching along the metallic vent, as a girl grabbed his ankles and dragged him towards the cluster of admirers.

"DEMYX!" The silver-haired teen shouted.

"Riku! Riku, help me! Please!" The other shouted.

"Demyx! Eat my chocolate!" The girls screamed.

"I've got you now!"

"Don't struggle while I take off your clothes!"

Riku's eyes caught Demyx's pepper spray, which he had dropped. Snatching it up, he crawled forward.

"Dem, cover your eyes!" he said. The mullet-mohawked did so instantly as Riku sprayed the entire lot with pepperspray.

"GAH!"

"OW! IT HURTS!"

The silver-haired teen seized Demyx' wrist and yanked him away from the group. He twisted his neck to try and see behind him and saw that there was an air vent nearby.

"There!" he said, moving toward the vent. With several strong kicks, the vent burst open and the two climbed out into a very convenient empty classroom. Thinking fast, they moved the teacher's desk in front of the vent.

"You okay?" Riku asked, his chest heaving as they laid their weight on the desk.

Demyx, who had lost his shirt and part of his pants in the skirmish, nodded. "F-f-fine," he said, his voice shaking. "I'll be fine."

The silver-haired teen nodded absentmindedly. He caught a dark smudge on his friend's stomach and thought for a second that…

"Is that… _blood_?" Riku asked, eyes bulging.

"No, no, it's… it's chocolate," the mullet-mohawked teen gulped, reliving the horror. "They were, um, trying to make me eat it."

"Oh. Right." Riku sighed. "I guess, um, we should go. It would be bad if they found us."

"Yeah. Well, see you later, Riku. I hope."

"See you later, Dem." The silver-haired teen swiftly made his way out of the room, eyes glancing every which way.

Meanwhile, Demyx felt the desk move—the girls were trying to get in. He ran in a series of useless, panicked circles until he finally decided that he should run. By then the girls were practically torrenting out of the vent, and the sandy-blonde hardly had enough time to race out of the room with his pants intact.

Knowing he wouldn't be safe in the walls, the mullet-mohawked teen dashed into the school yard.

"What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?" he muttered to himself.

A hand crushed over his mouth and Demyx knew it was over. He was screwed. The events of his last Valentine's Day replayed vividly in his mind and he flailed and kicked and screamed and prayed—

"_Shh! _Demyx, it's me!" He knew that voice. The hand over his mouth lifted.

"Zexy?" The sandy-blonde said, his chest still aching with the shock. The lilac-haired teen was covered in dirt, which caused an incredulous expression to fall on Demyx's face.

"No time to explain, down here," Zexion said quickly. He lifted a patch of grass nearby and disappeared underground. Squinting his eyes, the other gingerly did the same and warily slipped his leg in.

Impatiently, Zexion (from below) grabbed Demyx's leg and pulled him out of sight. The bookworm held a finger to his lips. Above them, the girls had halted.

"Where did Demyx go?"

"I could have sworn I saw him here."

"Maybe he ran in another direction?"

"Then he couldn't have gotten far! Let's go!"

It was only when he was satisfied they were gone did Zexion relax. The mullet-mohawked teen did the same. He glanced around him. The ditch was small, barely able to give the two room to maneuver. The top of the hole was concealed by sturdy plywood with a blanket of grass piled on top for camouflage. There was a dim electric lamp at their feet, their light source, and a shovel was present on Zexion's left.

"So this is where you were, Zexy," Demyx said, amazed.

The lilac-haired teen nodded. "Yes, I constructed this ditch the night before and have been here ever since," he whispered.

"Are you seri—?_!_"

"_Shh!_" Zexion hissed as he clapped his hand over the other's mouth.

"Sorry," Demyx said, whispering.

Zexion settled down in the dirt, bringing out a book and a small flashlight. The sandy-blonde sat down as quietly as he could. Several seconds passed in silence.

"Um, Zexion?" Demyx whispered.

The lilac-haired teen looked up, surprised because this was the first time Demyx used his full name.

"Yes?" he responded.

"Do you, uh, like Valentine's Day?" The mullet-mohawked teen was wringing his hands nervously.

"I can't exactly say it's my favorite holiday," Zexion answered, noting the other's hands.

"Oh." Demyx looked at his feet. "But you don't hate it, do you? Like, you wouldn't mind receiving chocolate from someone if they weren't—uh, that is, if someone _wasn't_ running up to you like a psycho and demanding you to eat their chocolate, you wouldn't reject them, would you?"

By this time the lilac-haired teen had placed his book down with a questioning gaze. "I… suppose…" he said.

Averting his eyes, Demyx inhaled deeply, and with his cheeks coloring red he reached into his blazer pocket and held out a simply-wrapped package.

"Will you accept it?" he asked, too embarrassed to look him in the face. "I know, it's kinda sudden but I've… always noticed you."

Zexion looked at the chocolates in shock, and just as he was about to take them, he drew his hand back. Demyx immediately became flustered.

"I'm sorry," the mullet-mohawked teen spoke very fast in his embarrassment. "I knew it was kinda long-shot but I went for it anyway, and—I'm sorry, Zexy. Oh my _God_, I feel so stupid—"

The bookworm placed his hand over his mouth once more. "You misinterpret me," he said. He reached into his blazer and brought out his own valentine. Demyx's eyes widened.

"I've always noticed you, too," Zexion began, his ears turning pink.

With all the happiness of the world bubbling in his chest, the mullet-mohawked teen threw himself forward, nearly hitting Zexion's eye with his nose as he kissed him.

* * *

"_Wow, that is some_ tiny_ print…" Demyx said as he glanced over Zexion's shoulder. His voice seemed louder than usual in the quiet library. "Don't your eyes hurt?" _

"_No," Zexion responded dismissively. Much to his dismay, the sandy-blonde didn't move._

"_Excuse me," the lilac-haired teen began, irritated, "but I can't read with you leering over my shoulder."_

_Demyx looked as if he wasn't exactly sure what 'leering' meant, but the mullet-mohawked teen walked from behind him to sit at the chair across the table. Zexion pretended not to notice him, hoping he would just go away._

_Frowning, Demyx reached over and plucked the book from the lilac-haired teen's hands. _

"_Hey!" Zexion protested, rising from his seat, but the sandy-blonde only flashed a smile._

"_You're gonna go blind from holding the book so close to your nose," he commented._

_Before Zexion could say that that fact was a misconception, Demyx spoke again. "Hi, I'm Demyx Ross. I'm fourteen and like music and potato chips and ice cream. What's your name? What's your favorite food? Do you like guitars? Would you like be my friend?" He fired the questions one right after the other, so fast Zexion needed several moments to catch up._

_"My name is Zexion Alabasta," he said. "My favorite food is Mâche & Chicken Salad with Honey-Tahini Dressing. Only when they're played well. And if I say yes, will you give me my book back?" _

_"Mm-hm," the mullet-mohawked teen said, nodding enthusiastically._

"_Then, yes."_

_Ecstatic, Demyx handed him his book. "Great!" he said aloud, and was quickly shushed by the librarian. "Oh! Sorry! So I'll talk to you later, Zexy!" He took off, quite a bit happier than earlier. _

"_Zexy…?" The bookworm raised an eyebrow in contemplation. It was only moments later did he realize that this was the first friend he had ever made. He lifted his eyes as the strange sandy-blonde exited the library._

* * *

"_With your intellect," the principal Ansem Chie began, "there's no reason for you not to finish within the next year if you take the Credit-By-Exam Tests." _

"_Yes, I've noticed," Zexion said from across the desk. "But I'm afraid I must decline."_

_The principal seemed surprised. "Are you sure?" He asked. "You could graduate as a sophomore."_

_Zexion nodded. "Yes, I am. I'm quite satisfied with my current position, sir. But I thank you for the opportunity." The lilac-haired teen stood up. "Thank you, again." With that he left._

"_Hey, Zexy!" Demyx said. The sandy-blonde had been in the waiting room outside of the office. _

"_Hello, Demyx," Zexion greeted. They exited the room together, heading towards the schoolbuses._

"_So what did the principal want you for?" Demyx asked._

"_Nothing of significant importance. We were just clearing up some issues."_

"_Oh, that's good, then!" The mullet-mohawked teen said with a bounce in his step. "Hey, guess what? There's this really cool guy in my class named Riku!"_

"_Is he the one with silver hair?"_

"_Yeah! That one!"_

* * *

Riku trotted down the hallway, keeping an eye out for any of his fans. As he turned one corner he nearly ran into Sora.

"Sora? What are you doing here?" The silver-haired teen asked.

"To check on you, of course," the mortician's son said. "You seem to be doing well." He noted that though the other was slightly dirty, he was in one piece and still had all of his clothing.

"Yeah," Riku said with a laugh, "but it hasn't been easy." He turned his head sharply to the sound of footsteps. They were coming in at both directions!

"I think I heard him over here!" Came a female voice.

'Dammit!' the eighteen-year-old cursed.

Sora grasped his arm.

"In here," he whispered, and led them into a nearby classroom, shutting the door as quietly as possible.

Riku strode to the air vent at once, but considering how fast the two groups were closing in on them, he realized that there wouldn't be enough time. And by now they knew his trick and it wouldn't be long before they would find him again.

The silver-haired teen bit his lip and turned to Sora. He didn't want to do this, but it was the most effective option he could think of.

"Sora," he spoke swiftly, desperately. He came close to the brunette, his hands on the other's upper arms.

"Yes?" Sora responded, startled by their proximity.

"Do you remember yesterday when you said you wanted to help me?"

"Yes."

"Can you help me now?" His speech was more frantic.

"Of—of course." The mortician's son noticed that Riku's face was coming closer and closer to his.

"Great." With that, Riku pressed his lips against his into a deep kiss.

Sora jolted, the contact sending a wave of pleasant electricity down his spine. Everything seemed to have gone quiet, their surroundings seemed to blur together into a mass of unimportant colors. He was barely aware of a collective high-pitched shriek of "_kyaaaah!" _that ensued outside the room. All Sora could think about and feel was the silver-haired teen's tongue in his mouth, and how hot his face was getting. The brunette's legs buckled, but Riku's arms kept him up. His heart was thumping hard in his chest and his head was spinning. It was like the elder's hands—and his blazing kiss—were the only thing that kept him tied down to earth, reminding him:

They were in a classroom. Riku was kissing him. There was a group of people outside peeping through the classroom door's window.

Riku drew back—just a bit—to allow Sora to breath, but he didn't wait long. In seconds they were kissing again. The brunette's knees gave, and the silver-haired teen had to lift him onto a desk, breaking away their lip contact. But he didn't stop. Tenderly, his hands loosened the brunette's tie, his fiery hot lips were at Sora's exposed neck.

And then it was gone. The kisses and hands had stopped. Riku had turned away, facing the classroom door. "I think they've gone," he said. "Sora, are you—Sora?"

The mortician's son was non-responsive, his body motionless and stiff. The silver-haired teen would have thought he passed out if not for the fact that Sora's eyes were wide open as if in complete shock.

"Sora?" Riku called anxiously, shaking him a little. "Sora, can you hear me? Sora!"

Suddenly, a huge spout of blood cascaded from the brunette's nose with such force his head was thrown back. Riku's shoulders irked as his face was sprayed with blood, he was so surprised he almost dropped Sora.

Holding the younger's body up with one hand and wiping the blood from his eyes with the other, Riku decided that perhaps they should make their exit. He prayed that when the janitor came in to clean up the mess he wouldn't think that someone had been stabbed and hemorrhaged to death. The silver-haired teen left the room, maneuvered around the bodies of the girls and gay boys (all of whom had been knocked unconscious due to massive bloodloss via nosebleeds) and made his way off campus.

* * *

**[1]** Last year, Roxas… whose house.) **You all have no idea how much fun I had writing all these little incidences. Seriously. :DDDDD My favorite is what happened to Demyx. And NO, none of these poor boys were raped during these incidences. This is not an angst fic, everyone. There was a lot of stripping, though. Oh, for those not familiar with **_**The Wallflower**_** manga, the boys get stripped a lot. Hahahaha. It's hilarious. Something ridiculous happens and suddenly the boys are shirtless and their pants are unbuttoned or something. :-P**

**[2]** …flooding he endured during Halloween. **Flooding is a technique used to help people conquer their phobias. Basically you expose the poor person to the thing that frightens them for an extensive period of time. Ex: someone afraid of cars would be locked in a car—usually kicking and screaming—until they calm down and just get used to it being in a car. It's fairly effective but it's not **_**exactly**_** ethical. **

**Oh no, no, no everyone. They haven't fallen in love, yet. Maybe next chapter… Maybe… I'd like to point out that Sora didn't even have a chance to give his chocolate. :-P Oh, and Sora nose-bleeding: TOTAL SUNAKO MOMENT! (Yet another **_**Wallflower **_**reference, for those who don't get it.) **

**In all honesty though, my favorite scene is when Sora and Yersinia are cooking. I hope you all wondered how Yersinia gave Sora sugar in that scene. My answer is: You'll never know. Not for sure. :-P**

**About the ZexionxDemyx, I honestly don't know why I put it there. I guess I'm thinking that a multipair fic will keep things interesting. Static SoraxRiku bores me, I guess. The Zemyx will actually turn up more than the CloudxLeon, at least, I hope they will. (I've already told you the only reason for the Cleon existence last chapter.) **

**Well, since I don't want to keep you all in suspense, I will attempt - ATTEMPT - to try to get the next chapter out within this month. (Don't you all hate it when authors give you a cliff hanger and then don't update for another six months?) **

**A round of applause for the kickass **_**copycat-capycot**_** for beta-ing! :DD**

**- See you all next chapter!**

**|Corrosive Moon|**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

**NINE CHAPTERS! This is officially my longest fanfiction ever! (So far.) :DDD YAY! **

**As promised, here is the next chapter.**

**Beta'd by: the fantastic _copycat-capycot_. :) **

**

* * *

**

_Chapter 9: You and Me _

Leon was about to cut into a new body when heard the doorbell ring. Lifting his head, he momentarily wondered who it could be - it was only about one o' clock in the afternoon - and then thought that perhaps it was Cloud dropping by for a surprise visit. Turning away from his work, he went to the door.

He was shocked to find Riku standing there, Sora slung over his shoulder and dried blood down both boys' fronts.

"Leon, I can explain—" Riku began but he was cut off when Leon seized his collar and lifted him several feet from the ground. The silver-haired teen somehow managed to take hold of Sora's arm to keep the brunette from falling.

"_What the fuck did you do to my son_?" He snarled menacingly; above them, the porch light burst, sending sparks and pieces of glass raining down on them.

"He had a nosebleed," the eighteen-year-old gasped, his feet dangling. "He passed out and I brought him home!"

"Oh." Leon said, released him, immediately shifting back to his usual polite, chipper demeanor. "I apologize," he said with a smile as he stepped aside to let the silver-haired teen inside. "Forgive me for jumping to conclusions, Riku."

"N-n-no problem," Riku replied, a bit of leftover terror slipping into his voice.

* * *

'I'm screwed,' Riku realized this as he sat in his desk, his face in his hands.

After taking Sora to his house, the silver-haired teen stammered out a lame excuse and escaped as fast as he could. He realized it was a stupid, guilty-looking move, but he was too petrified of Leon to stay any longer.

But now, Riku had to deal with the crippling anxiety of being smote where he sat at any given moment. He knew it was a matter of time, and he had it all written up in his head in vivid detail: Sora would wake up. Leon would probably recount what Riku had said. Sora would reply with something along the lines of: "But Dad, that's not all, Riku molested me. He used me to throw off all his admirers. Go kill him, Dad." Then Leon would enter his room by some form of magic or black witchcraft, rip off his lie-spreading jawbone with his bare hands and leave him to bleed to death.

An hour crept by. Then two hours. Three hours passed and the eighteen-year-old began to wonder if Leon was going to destroy him at all. And finally—still alive—as he got ready for bed, speculating that he might just live for another day. If that was so, then what had happened? Perhaps Leon was feeling merciful? Or maybe Sora didn't say anything?

Either way, he spent a majority of the night tormented with nightmares of Leon strapping him to a surgical table and (while the silver-haired teen was still fully conscious) slicing his chest open with a dull knife.

* * *

The next day was not better for Riku, even if it was after Valentine's Day. Sora didn't come to school. The halls were alive with talk of his and Sora Leonhart's secret make-out session and it was practically official that the desirable and gorgeous Riku Yorushi was taken.

Axel was practically grinning ear to ear as the silver-haired teen approached the table with his near-emptylunch tray in hand.

"Heard the wonderful news!" the redhead said, slapping his back jovially. "You and Sora, huh?"

"Ax, let's not talk about it, please," Riku said miserably.

"Oh." Axel immediately caught what wasn't said. "So you…?"

"I did kiss him. But he… uh, didn't take it well."

"So, how _did _he take it?"

"He's not here today, remember?"

The taller sipped his strawberry milk, nodding sagely. "I'm actually surprised his dad didn't kill you by now," he added quietly.

Riku groaned; of course he hadn't forgotten about Leon. The silver-haired teen rubbed his sternum absentmindedly.

Sensing his distress, Axel changed the subject. "Zexion and Demyx got together," he said offhandedly.

"_Zexion_ and _Demyx_?" Riku repeated, glancing up with surprise.

"Yeah," Axel said with a lopsided smile. He jerked his head towards the two, who had their hands intertwined underneath the table.

* * *

A combination of unbearable suspense, fear and guilt brought Riku to the Leonhart's front door that afternoon. Sucking in his breath, he knocked on the door. Minutes later, Sora answered, cracking the door open enough to peer out with his left eye. The brunette looked as if he hadn't slept; his face was haggard and apparent dark circles were underneath his eyes, darker than usual.

"Hey, Sora," the silver-haired teen said, his mouth dry. "Can I talk to you?"

Sora hesitated, but he eventually swung open the door completely and stepped aside.

"Look, about yesterday…" Riku began as he went in. "I didn't mean to take advantage of you like that. I shouldn't have kissed you. It was wrong, and I'm sorry."

The mortician's son wasn't looking at him. His cheeks were flushed and he looked altogether uncomfortable about the subject.

"Let me make it up to you," the silver-haired teen took a step forward. Sora instantly took a step back, his face unreadable. Riku was shocked at his behavior. A cold, sinking feeling settled in the eighteen-year-old's stomach. Nervously, the eighteen-year-old rubbed his arm.

"I'm sorry," Riku repeated. "And I understand if you don't want to be friends anymo—"

"No, that's…!" Sora spoke for the first time and trailed off, his face becoming redder. "That's… that's not it." He still wasn't looking at Riku in the eye, and he looked as if he wanted to say more. He bit his lip.

"Then, what is it?" the silver-haired teen pressed on, gently.

"I…" The younger was struggling hard for the words. "Yesterday, when you… k-kissed me... it was… my first…" He trailed off, far too embarrassed.

"Your first kiss?" Riku provided the words, brows arching up in shock. "Oh my God, Sora, I'm sorry." He placed his face in his hands in mortification. "I'm so sorry, Sora. I'm such an _asshole_—"

"No, I liked it!" Sora clapped his hands over his mouth right after the words left him. It took the silver-haired teen several moments to realize what he had just said.

"…Liked…?" Riku echoed—half-questioning, half urging him to go on—the gravity of the word seemed to change everything entirely.

Sora didn't respond. Instead he turned heel and raced up the stairs. For a moment, the elder thought that he had been abandoned, and then he heard Sora's feet rush back down, a package in his hands.

It was a box of Valentine's Day chocolates.

"I made them," Sora said. His eyes downcast as he opened the package. "I tried my best, but for some reason they turned into this…" He held one of the chocolates up. It was a perfect, miniature, chocolate rendition of a human skull.

"…Wow." Riku said, impressed. "And you… They just came out like this?"

The mortician's son nodded. "They started as hearts…" he said, sadly.

After a short period silence, Sora finally looked at him. "…and I think I love you." As he spoke his cheeks became several shades darker. It was spoken quickly, but the silver-haired teen heard it.

The silence that fell between them was agonizing, especially to Sora. He had never done this before, never expected that when Riku kissed him, above the shock there would be this content warmth that would make him yearn for his lips. He didn't know that the night before, while he laid in his coffin pondering, he would realize that after watching Riku for so long he would want to be with him like that. It was quite a drastic change considering he had originally wanted to murder the silver-haired teen in his early twenties and preserve his body in a glass case for all of time.

Riku's fingers tenderly wrapped around the hand that held the skull-shaped chocolate, snapping the mortician's son from his thoughts. Then he leaned forward and took a large bite. Sora jumped, startled by the action.

"It's good," The eighteen-year-old commented. "I like it."

The brunette's royal blue eyes met the other's turquoise eyes, and the silver-haired teen inclined his head further, pausing only to see if Sora would protest or cringe. But the smaller teen didn't do either. So, carefully, Riku took the liberty to close the distance between their lips.

The familiar, electric-like feeling coursed through Sora's body and, almost on instinct, he opened his mouth and allowed the other to deepen the kiss. Riku's lips were gentle and confident, strong and sweet, like the chocolate on the eighteen-year-old's tongue.

Riku pulled away, his eyes searching for any fear on Sora's face. There was none. Unconsciously, he felt a smile tug on his mouth.

Sora found himself smiling too. And without further ado, his eyelids fluttered shut and he nosebled all over them.

"LEON! LEON, HELP!" Riku shouted, completely taken by surprise. The brunette's body fell limp in his arms, blood everywhere.

"Good afternoon, Riku!" The mortician greeted as a nearby trapdoor burst open and he clambered out. "I thought I heard you. Oh, it seems that Sora has had another unfortunate nosebleed." He regarded the massive amounts of blood on his carpet as if it were a minor spill of milk. "Well, it appears to have stopped now, so why don't you take him to his room? I'll go fetch the bleach and water and clean this up."

There was a gleam in Leon's eyes that gave him away. He had probably been eaves-dropping on them, no doubt. Riku would have to deal with that later. He lifted Sora in his arms and headed up the stairs. The younger had come around by the last step.

"Did I do it again?" he murmured.

"Yeah," the silver-haired teen nodded.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Riku said, grinning. "Is it all right if I get a change of clothes? If your neighbors see me walking around, they'll probably think I killed you."

* * *

When Riku and Sora walked to the lunch table holding hands—and the mortician's son was exercising all his willpower to keep from having another nosebleed—everyone was grinning at them. Though both teens appeared to be on the opposite side of the normalcy spectrum, their friends were happy for them and continued their conversations as usual. This time the topic of interest was a newly-discovered ditch that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Apparently a sophomore had fallen into it and that was how the hole was found. Unbeknownst to the group, Zexion's ears had grown just a little pink and Demyx casually avoided eye contact.

* * *

[Wednesday]

It took but a few days into their relationship for Riku to realize that he and Sora needed to have their first official date. That school day and during their usual study hour, he thought about what they could do. He deliberated for a good thirty minutes on taking the brunette to a paintball arena, weighing whether the danger of giving Sora a gun—granted, an aerosoft gun, but a _gun_ nonetheless—was worth the amount of fun and utter domination over their opponents they were bound to have. The eighteen-year-old eventually scratched out the idea because he didn't want to take any chances.

On the brink of depression over his dilemma, an intervention occurred. When Riku trudged home after studying at Sora's house, he opened the door to find his father standing several feet from him.

The silver-haired teen stopped dead in his tracks. His father, Sephiroth Yorushi, was a man who—though silently caring—exchanged few words with his son. He worked almost constantly at his law firm, and when he wasn't working he was honing his extensive and excellent martial arts and bushido skills. The man's devotion was divided between his job, his weapons and his family, the greatest portion probably going to his weapons. Sephiroth even used the guest room to house his instruments of mortal harm. He actually owned a six-foot sword—named Masamune—and carried it with him at all times because he could and there was no one who had the cast-iron testicles to tell him otherwise.

"Chichi-ue**[1]**," Riku said, surprised. "You're… home."

"Astute observation, Riku," his father commented. His hands were gripped behind his waist, his head held high and his long silver hair spilled smoothly down his back. "Though I was hoping for a more in-depth reply."

"What are you doing here, Chichi-ue? Shouldn't you be at work?" Riku shut the door behind him.

"Yes. But there's a matter of yours that has grasped my present attention." He beckoned his son to follow him with a hand gesture and they went to the dining table, which became a conference table at times like these.

"There is?" Riku took his seat.

"Yes, your boyfriend."

The silver-haired teen almost gaped. He hadn't mentioned his relationship with Sora to his parents yet. Riku _was_ going to. Eventually. He was working up to it. The eighteen-year-old was currently in the stage of reciting what he was going to say to his reflection in the mirror, which wasn't really going so well.

"Yes, I am aware of him," Sephiroth said, recognizing the surprise in his son's eyes.

"I see you still extend full use of your uncanny ability to keep tabs on me, Chichi-ue," Riku replied a bit bitterly. He tried not to think on it too much because it creeped him out, but one way or another his father _always_ knew things about him. Sephiroth would congratulate him on making the soccer team even before Riku would speak of it, or he'd remind him that he had to sign something for a field trip or some other school function.

"He's a very nice young man, if I do say so myself. Very polite."

"You've met him?" His son's eyes widened in astonishment. His father had a habit of scarring people for life on first impression (which was the reason all his friends _begged_ Riku never to leave them alone with the silver-haired man _**ever**_.) He was a little less worried for Sora because he figured they'd actually hit it off, but still.

"In a matter of speaking. But that's beyond the point." Sephiroth laced his fingers in front of him. "I'm also aware that you haven't had a formal date."

"Why do you bring that up, Chichi-ue?" It was curious for his father to mention something like that. For the most part, the man normally kept himself out of the eighteen-year-old's life.

Sephiroth slipped his hand into his coat pocket, pulled out two tickets and slid them to his son.

"Perhaps that would assist you," the silver-haired man said.

Riku lifted one of the tickets. "The Atlantica Grand Symphony?" he read.

"A talented group of musicians," Sephiroth remarked. "Very worthy of a first date."

A rather satirical smile quirked on Riku's lips. "I appreciate your help, Chichi-ue, but I think I can come to a solution myself, thank you."

* * *

"The Atlantica Grand Symphony?" Sora asked the next day.

"Yeah, they're coming this weekend. I managed to get tickets," Riku explained, thinking of kicking himself for giving into his father's suggestion. "Okay, my father got them," he admitted.

"That was nice of him," the brunette commented offhandedly as he examined the tickets.

"Hey, Sora?" Riku asked.

"Yes?"

"Have you met my father before? He said you did."

Sora glanced up, his expression distant as he began to recall. "Ah, yes, we have met."

"You have? How?"

It had happened during the weeks Sora had stalked Riku. Three days into his venture and as he was settling into to his favorite spot in a convenient tree, Sora nearly had his head sliced off by a long sword. He tumbled down from his branch, landed gracelessly in the grass and then found himself face-to-face with Riku's father. Unsurprisingly enough, they got along very well.

* * *

"_Who are you?" Sephiroth asked, the blade poised to strike. "Why have you been following my son?"_

_Sora held his hands up in surrender. "My name is Sora Leonhart. I am following your son because I wish to know more about him."_

"_Normal people would simply use conversation."_

"_Conversation is insufficient. Following him would yield more accurate data."_

_Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, not out of anger, but out of interest. The boy had a point. To Sora's left, he saw a notebook and shuffled sideways to pick it up, all the while keeping the sword pointed at the brunette. He read through a page. _

"_This is quite good. Very well done," he said, finally. He lowered the sword entirely as he skimmed down the lines of data and inferences of Riku's habits Sora had accumulated._

"_Might I say, sir, that you carry a very beautiful sword," the mortician's son commented. "I own a Meitou class katana myself."_

_The silver-haired man raised a surprised brow, his respect growing for his new acquaintance. He snapped the notebook shut and handed it back to him._

"_Carry on," he said. Without another word, he turned and headed back into the house.

* * *

_

"We spoke after school," Sora said, which wasn't entirely a lie. He didn't think that he would ever disclose to Riku how he had stalked him early into their friendship. He was social enough to know that many people wouldn't find that very flattering.

"Oh. So I take it that you got along?" Riku wasn't surprised.

"Yes, we had a very nice conversation."

"Yeah, so—uh—I guess I'll… pick you up at seven?" He rubbed his arm nervously.

"That would be fine. How shall I dress?" the brunette asked.

"Formal. I think you'll need a suit."

"I have one. It's no problem."

"Great."

Riku was anxiously knotting his tie when he felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up at his mirror and saw Leon standing behind him. The silver-haired teen nearly cried out in surprise.

"'Evening, Riku," the mortician greeted.

"Leon," he gasped, whirling around to face him with his heart thudding in his chest. "Wha—what are you—? How did you—?"

"Let's not dwell on unimportant matters," Leon said dismissively. "Now, I understand that you are taking my son out tonight."

"Yes," Riku nodded. "To an—u-um—a concert, sir." He was thankful that they were going to something very proper. It would certainly make a good impression on Sora's father.

"Yes, I am aware," the tall brunette said. He leaned down, very close to the eighteen-year-old's face and spoke in a low voice. "Now, Riku, you must understand my concern. Sora is quite important to me, so please do not be terribly offended when I say that if you so much as harm a hair on his head I will personally guarantee that you_suffer._" He slowed his speech to intensify the impact of the last word, letting it linger in the air. The light in the room flickered threateningly, Riku's laptop suddenly turned on, the screen overtaken by a wall of black, crystal-clear, _Courier New_ font that repeated only one word over and over: AGONY.

The eighteen-year-old felt his knees buck and his back hit his mirror, his terrified eyes on the mortician—unable to look away. "Yes, yes of course, sir. I would never… d-do such a thing," he stammered a weak, truthful reply.

Leon's eyes thinned. "Have a good evening, Riku," he said. "Tell your father I enjoy eluding him." With those parting words the light in Riku's room went out completely for a millisecond… and then everything was back to normal. The mortician was gone. The lamp wasn't flickering, his laptop was off.

There was a knock on his door and moments later Sephiroth entered.

"Is something the matter, Riku?" he asked, glancing around the room.

"No, Chichi-ue, nothing," the silver-haired teen replied.

His father let out a disappointed hum. "I've never been able to meet Squall 'Leon' Leonhart personally," he said. "I wonder why he avoids confrontation."

"…he says it's because he enjoys eluding you," Riku answered, remembering the tall brunette's words.

"Quite," Sephiroth said deadpan. "If you're ready you should go, Riku. It's almost six-thirty."

Bidding a quick good-bye to his parents, the silver-haired teen was out, car keys in hand. Within fifteen minutes he was in front of the Leonhart house and knocked on the door. It was Sora who answered. The brunette was dressed in a suit that, even though it was similar to Riku's, seemed to fit him very well.

"Hey," the elder greeted, stepping forward to kiss Sora's forehead.

"Good evening," the brunette replied, blushing. He tilted his head to the left. "Are you all right, Riku? You seem pale."

"What—me? No." The silver-haired teen answered quickly.

"Dad has been to see you, I see. So that's why he left early tonight…" The mortician's son sighed deeply. "I apologize for him. I've never seen him so… defensive."

"No, no, no, it's totally cool. I mean, it's… nice… that he cares about you so much."

They walked to the car and drove off. Upon reaching their destination, Riku parked his car. The lot was rather crowded, the groups of people talking excitedly as they entered the music theater.

"Have you ever been to a concert before?" the silver-haired teen asked Sora.

"Yes," the younger answered as he stepped out of the car, which surprised Riku.

"You have?"

"Yes. I've been to see a few symphonies."

"You like music?" Riku tried not to sound too astonished but he couldn't help it.

Sora nodded this time. "I enjoy the alto saxophone the most. Do you enjoy music, Riku?"

"I do," Riku answered. "So, do you play?"

A man by the entrance asked for their tickets—interrupting their conversation—and the silver-haired teen brandished the slips of paper and they went inside.

"I play the alto sax, on occasion," Sora answered, continuing.

"You do?" Riku was surprised.

"Yes. Her name is Tubby."

"Oh." That was a surprisingly cute name—

"It's short for _Mycobacterium Tuberculae_."

"Ah." There was the depressing spin he was waiting for. Riku smiled and took Sora's hand.

"Shall we?" he asked, like a proper gentleman.

The brunette's cheeks flared and they continued down the splendid hall and into the auditorium, which had been decorated with Atlantica's colors, blue and gold. The symphony was warming up and multitudes of notes mixed with chatter from the crowd and musicians alike filled the large room. Sora and Riku's seats, surprisingly enough, were located in box two, high above the crowd and the best seats in the house. Riku had to remember to thank his father.

Shortly after seating, the director stepped onto the stage. Immediately, the entire room became silent; the audience ceased talking, the musicians became still, their instruments in the proper first position* and their backs straight.

As the director stepped onto the podium, the musicians assumed their second position**. The director raised his hands and his baton, most of the symphony immediately shifted to third position***. From his peripheral vision, Riku saw Sora slide forward in his chair intently, his eyes gleaming. Meanwhile, the director flicked his wrist four times to signal the tempo and the concert began.

As he listened to the elegant, wondrous music, Riku looked in awe at Sora. The younger's eyes were half-lidded, his face serene as he left the music fill him. His head often swayed with the swell and decline of the melody. When the key would shift or the mood would change or the notes would cluster into a tense bout, his face would reflect it.

For two performances, Riku watched in utter fascination.

"Ah," Sora sighed as the symphony started its third and final musical score. It was the first word he had spoken since the performance started. "I love this piece..." With this, he shut his eyes, became motionless and simply enjoyed the music, a pleasant expression on his face. If not for the occasional in-tempo bob of the head, Riku would have thought he had fallen asleep. The silver-haired teen found he liked the music as well—the brass, the resonating high notes of the woodwinds and the occasional, swaying, brittle solo of the violin.

Riku leaned towards him and spoke quietly. "What's it called?"

The brunette leaned over to him, and whispered two words. "Danse Macabre."

_The Dance of Death._

The elder smiled. 'How just like Sora,' he thought. The words brought a fluffy, feathery warmth in his chest.

He wouldn't have the mortician's son any other way.

* * *

"I really enjoyed the concert," Sora said as Riku walked him to his front door, their fingers laced.

"I'm glad you did," the silver-haired teen said with a small smile. "We should go out again sometime. In the near future."

"That would be nice."

They reached the door faster than they had initially thought they would, and that left them in a slightly awkward silence.

"I guess I'll…" the brunette began. "I'll see you at school."

"Yeah—um. Sora?"

"Yes?"

Riku took a step bold step forward and connected their lips. "Good night," he murmured.

"Good night," Sora echoed. But he didn't move, and neither did the silver-haired teen.

Grasping the situation tightly, Riku leaned forward and kissed him again, more fervently. His arms were at the brunette's sides, stroking; holding him closer. He pressed Sora gently against his door and deepened the kiss. The younger moaned, his mouth opening slightly and Riku took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside. The eighteen-year-old's fingers played along Sora's tux, searching for the hem of his pants. Within several seconds, Riku yanked the white formal shirt out of the pants, exposing a patch of smooth skin.

"Mmph!" The brunette let out a soft, muffled yelp as he felt the cool air on his abdomen. The silver-haired teen pressed farther, ravishing—

"_Ahem."_

Leon was standing several feet away from their left, looking rather peeved than usual since he found his son being molested at his very doorstep. Immediately, Riku shoved himself off Sora, whose chest was heaving.

"D-Dad," Sora panted, tucking his shirt back in place. It looked like he was using every ounce of his strength to keep from nose-bleeding into another fainting spell.

For a moment Leon stood still, like a statue—or gargoyle—and then the dark shadow was gone from his face, as if he had thought about starting a massacre and then decided otherwise. The tall brunette smiled.

"Good evening, Sora. I see you've had a wonderful time," he said cordially.

"Yes—ah—Riku was just…" the mortician's son started.

"Saying good-bye," Riku spoke up quickly. "I was just saying good-bye, sir."

The mortician's intense, steely gaze locked onto him, and the silver-haired teen felt his heart skip a beat with terror.

"I see," Leon said finally. "Come Sora, you must be tired," He opened the door for his son.

"All right, Dad," he addressed his father before turning to Riku. "Good-bye, Riku."

"Bye, Sora."

"Good-bye, Riku," Leon said.

Riku watched the brunette go before he turned and headed to his car. He opened the door and stuck the key into the ignition. The moment he gunned the car to life the radio played, which surprised him so much he jumped. He didn't remember turning it on.

The radio fluctuated, shifting through the stations and static before finally stabilizing enough for Riku to make out a few words.

"…_and keep your hands to yourself!" _Then the radio shut off.

Riku turned his head towards the Leonhart residence. Leon was still outside, his eyes fixed on him. For several seconds, they stared at each other. Until finally, the mortician raised his hand and waved, a deceivingly-friendly smile on his lips.

Deciding not to incur anymore unholy wrath, Riku pressed his foot on the gas and cruised down the street.

* * *

**[1] Chichi-ue, a **_**very **_**formal way of referring to your father. Way more formal than Otou-san.**

**First position* in relation to musical performance is basically where the musicians hold their instruments in a uniform fashion. Each instrument has a unique way of handling. It's basically a fancy way of sitting. It's assumed long before and after you play a piece. **

**Second position** follows the first position. A musician will hold this position usually when they enter a long rest period, or when the director in on the podium.**

**Third position*** is when the musicians are about to play. This position is usually assumed about two or three measures from entry or right before playing the beginning of a piece. Example from my short-lived, high school, flute career: first position was with the flute horizontally on my lap. Second position was with the flute propped vertically on my lap, hands on my flute, with my back straight. In third position, my flute was lifted up and the mouthpiece was to my lips.**

_**About Riku and Sephiroth**_**: their relationship is a bit different from my usual motif with them. Normally, I like to have them hostile with each other and I like to use that relationship as comic relief (for details, see my other fic, **_**Camera Doesn't Lie**_**—and NO this isn't exactly a ploy to get more people to read my stories :P) In this fic, Riku respects his father more, which is obvious in the way he addresses and speaks to Sephiroth as opposed to how he speaks to his friends. I haven't really gotten into it, but Riku has a very Japanese up-bringing. His father is a very typical Japanese father here, aside from the fact that he has this unhealthy obsession with weapons and he knows a lot about his son. The Japanese have a saying that the best father is one who isn't around (because he'd be working so much.)**

**And one final around of applause for _copycat-capycot, _my personal grammar Nazi. :D Clap everyone! Clap!  
**

** - See you all next chapter! As always, please review.  
**

**_|Corrosive Moon|_  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh my god, I've reached the double digits! XDDDD I'm so happy, I could die! (Okay, not really, but I'm still pretty happy.)**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

**Betad by: **_**copycat-capycot**_**, my ever-so-awesome beta. :DDD You would all suffer from my horrific grammar without her. **

* * *

_Chapter 10: The Adventure at the Yorushi Villa_

It was Spring Break. And while most of the pitiful student body of Twilight Town High School was in their homes surfing the internet, procrastinating or lounging about and enjoying their boredom, Riku, Sora, Axel, Roxas, Zexion and Demyx were happily lounging at the beach by a beautiful, two-story, sea-side villa at Radiant Garden.

Granted, it was Sephiroth's sea-side villa, but he allowed Riku to bring his friends as well. In frankness, Sephiroth had intended the villa solely for the silver-haired teen and Sora, but after Setsuna—Riku's mother and possibly the _only_ person Sephiroth would listen to—stood beside her son and protested that Riku should bring as many friends as he wanted, Sephiroth eventually conceded.

And so, here they were. Demyx, Roxas and Riku were attempting to construct a sandcastle, Sora was digging a hole in the sand underneath the large beach umbrella (he was not particularly fond of the noon sun) with Zexion next to him, and Axel was deeply absorbed in lighting the fire for their barbeque.

"Hm. It seems Radiant Garden has a bit of interesting history," Zexion commented, as he thumbed through a book titled _Radiant Garden: A History_.

"Yes," Sora said, shoveling out another handful of sand with a large shell. "I've heard about that. This entire city is rich with its own horrors." A gleeful, slit-like grin crossed his features.

"Yeah, my father thinks that the villa's haunted by a zashiki warashi," Riku spoke up as he attempted to etch a royal crest into the castle's main body with a stick. "I think that's half the reason why he bought it, knowing him."

"A what, sorry?" Axel asked, glancing at his friend.

"A zashiki warashi," the silver-haired teen explained. "It's kind of like a prankster ghost child that brings prosperity and good luck. Sometimes my clothes would go missing and stuff, and things would move around."

Roxas and Axel gulped. Demyx paled. Zexion looked quite intrigued. Sora seemed happier than ever.

"A zashiki warashi!" the brunette said gleefully, dazed with complete bliss. "I've always wanted to meet one!"

"But I think it was my Dad playing tricks on me," Riku said. "He always _did_ like doing things like that," he added a bit bitterly. Sephiroth had once misled the silver-haired teen into thinking that the toothfairy was a hulking, ugly, winged goblin-like creature that would steal away into his room the night he turned six-years-old and pry out all his baby teeth with a large pair of pliers. His father cheerfully admitted his deceit the next morning… after Riku had spent the entire night sobbing hysterically.

Sora looked slightly disappointed. His lower lip jutted out into a very identifiable pout.

"Sora, don't tell me you came all this way with me 'cause you wanted to see my haunted house," the eighteen-year-old joked.

"Not solely," the mortician's son said, failing to notice Riku's teasing. "I wanted to spend time with you, too."

The elder knew it probably wasn't easy for Sora to openly admit his feelings, so he shuffled next to him and gave him a light kiss as a reward. "Thanks," Riku murmured.

The relationship between the two boys had been going quite well. Riku often kissed Sora and held his hand openly in public, but he wouldn't dare try anything more than a heated make-out session. Sora was taking this new experience quite well, in all consideration. The brunette was still very, very prone to bouts of heavy nosebleeds, however he was getting better. When Sora felt compelled to, which was rare and endearing, he would offer a kiss with a subdued excitement and a slight dab of fear (of making an error) in his eyes. At these times Riku would always oblige with enthusiasm. But the elder was always careful never to frighten Sora when he made his advances. Always very careful.

But it wasn't to say that Sora had given up his ways. He was as obsessed with death, gore and all manner of horrifying things as he always was. In fact, several days ago, Sora took it upon himself to show Riku a new cat whose skull had been crushed a peculiar way by a car tire and spoke of how fascinating the shape was. On a related side note: the older teen loved cats. There were new aspects to the mortician's son that Riku found so utterly captivating: the sad, quiet moments when the shadows would darken Sora's face more than usual, his unwavering concern for the silver-haired teen's well-being, and his love for music.

They were quite a couple.

* * *

[The First Night]

There were four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two game rooms, one large kitchen, one living room, and a laundry room included in Sephiroth's villa. The teens had paired up and separated themselves amongst the bedrooms. Zexion and Demyx elected to stay in the bedroom on the second floor. Axel and Roxas stayed in the bedroom on the first floor. Riku's father, however, had already designated which bedroom his son and Sora were to stay in. It was the master bedroom, which contained a large, four-poster bed complete with a velvety-red canopy and equally red sheets, luxurious pillows and its own bathroom. It was lovelier than the other bedrooms. The moment Riku found out where they were going to be sleeping, he almost turned scarlet. It was a room for physically intimate couples. The silver-haired teen would have phoned his father and thrown a fit if he didn't secretly like the thought of Sora curled up in those silky bedsheets.

Early next morning, at about 3:00 AM, Riku woke and discovered Sora was not with him. He didn't have to open his eyes to find out, he could tell. The bed was colder than usual.

"Sora?" he called, too tired to sit up.

The brunette stepped out of the bathroom, a shovel resting on his shoulder.

"Good morning, Riku," he said.

"Morning, Sora," the elder said, half-mumbling. "What's with the shovel?"

"I'm going to dig something up."

"Oh. Okay." Riku yawned again and rolled over onto his other side.

"By the way, Riku, do you know where the butcher knives are?"

"Hm? Oh… yeah, they're in the kitchen. Left of the stove, second drawer."

"Thanks. And what about garbage bags? Preferably the big ones."

The silver-haired teen's brow furrowed as he tried to gather his thoughts; he was drifting. "Underneath the sink," the elder said, lazily.

"All right. Thanks, Riku."

"No prob…"

"Good night."

Riku only let out a grunt as a response, hardly noticing his boyfriend leave quietly. He was asleep in moments.

* * *

[The Second Day]

Several hours later, Axel (an early riser) woke to find his pillow was missing. The redhead rolled over to the edge of the bed, thinking that the pillow had perhaps tumbled over while he was sleeping, and began to blindly feel around the floor for the lost object. He couldn't find it. Had it traveled far? Grumbling softly, Axel sat up to find his pillow was nowhere in sight. Not on the floor. Not on the bed. Not in the room.

'What…?' the redhead thought. 'Did Roxas take it?'

Axel turned to the blonde, who was sleeping soundly next to him. His pillow was gone as well.

The taller was quite sure that they had both fallen asleep with a pillow, so where could they have gone? He rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully and then dismissed the entire thing. It was too early to think anyway. Axel swung his legs off the bed. His throat was dry; he needed some water. He crossed the room and opened the door—

To find that there was a pillow pyramid waiting outside for him.**[1]**

The redhead stopped, glancing at the structure with curiosity.

"Hey, Roxas?" he called, turning his head to the bed.

The blonde groaned in annoyance.

"Roxas! Look at this!"

"Axel, shut up…" The blonde whined, rolling away from him. "It's too early." Roxas clawed around for his pillow to jam it over his head and keep the noise out. Unable to find it, he begrudgingly opened his eyes and pushed his upper half from the bed.

"Did you take my pillow?" the shorter asked.

* * *

"Well, _I_ didn't do it," Demyx said in his defense during breakfast.

"Me neither," Zexion said, sipping his milk.

"Me neither," Riku echoed as he settled down to eat his toast.

"Well, me and Roxas—"

"Roxas and _I_," the lilac-haired teen corrected.

Axel ignored him, "—didn't do it. And anyway, Riku, don't you get up to pee, like, six times a night or something? Did you notice anything?"

The silver-haired teen's cheeks turned pink. "No, I didn't, Ax," he said, letting a tone of resentment slide in his voice. He hated it when his nightly bathroom runs came into conversation.

"Maybe Sora did it?" Roxas suggested. "Hey, where is he, anyway?"

"Oh, he left a few hours ago," Riku said, biting into his toast.

"What in the world do you do at that early?" Demyx asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"He said something about digging," the silver-haired teen replied, his mouth full.

"Digging?" Zexion spoke up. "Digging what?"

"You know, I…" Riku swallowed his food, thinking. "I don't really know."

Luckily, the TV provided a response.

"_Locals are terrified by a shadowy figure that had broken into the cemetery and unearthed a grave. The suspect was identified as a small male carrying a shovel, a knife and a garbage bag on his person—_"

Riku choked on his orange juice.

"—_but other than that, not much evidence has been uncovered to lead to the identification of this graverobber. Twenty people have reported seeing the suspect enter, but they did not see him leave. In fact, many were prepared to swear that the suspect had 'vanished into thin air.'"_

Sora entered the villa, his hands, feet and front covered with dirt, the knife in one hand, the garbage bag slung over his opposite shoulder, and his best, eerie slit-like smile on face. The bag was obviously filled with something (its contours in the plastic were easily seen) but most of them did not want to venture a guess at what it was.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully, as everyone stared at him. "Oh, I made the news!" He took his seat between Riku and Demyx, and plopped his bag next to him. The mullet-mohawked teen gaped at the garbage bag in horror, his eyes bulging.

"So, Sora…" Riku said, slowly. "You… robbed a… grave this morning?"

"Yes," Sora replied happily.

"…what did you take?"

"Several rare herbs that can only be found growing at the graves here. And an arm." He said the last sentence so casually.

He eagerly took his fork and moved several pancakes onto his plate. It seemed that only Sora and Zexion had the ability to continue eating. Demyx's face had turned a sick shade of green.

"Oh, an arm," the silver-haired teen nodded like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. "From who?"

"A girl. Don't worry, she didn't need it. She was already dead, a victim of a murder." He practically glowed with content. "I'm so happy I have a souvenir now."

Riku sighed. For an instant, he thought of making the brunette take the arm back, but he knew Sora. The mortician's son would not give it up without an all-out bloodbath. Roxas, however, did not have this insight, noble as his intentions were.

"Um, Sora," the blonde began.

Axel looked to Roxas in horror, fearing for the shorter teen's safety. The redhead had seen what Sora can do when provoked!

"Roxas!" he hissed quietly, but Roxas didn't hear him and continued.

"Maybe you should go and put—"

The room suddenly became frigid, the TV channel became fuzzy, and the lights dimmed and sputtered.

"I should do what, Roxas?" Sora asked, his voice quiet and leveled. Their gazes met and it took only a moment.

"Syrup," the blonde said, quivering. "You should put syrup on your pancakes. Yeah. And uh—Sora?"

"Yes?"

"You didn't happen to take our pillows and make them into a pyramid before you left did you?"

Sora sliced into a pancake. "No," he replied, looking slightly confused. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, we all woke up this morning and there was a pillow pyramid to the hall," Riku spoke up.

A look of pure joy overcame the brunette's face. "Do you think it's the zashiki warashi?" he said, happily.

"No, I think it had to have been someone," the silver-haired teen reasoned.

"Hm," Sora frowned, sinking into his chair as he prodded his breakfast. "Regardless of your interpretation, Riku, I'm afraid I am not the culprit. Besides, do you take me to do those sort of pointless pranks?"

"No, I guess not," Riku frowned.

"But anyway, what shall we do today?" the brunette asked. "I'm told there are very interesting things in the city. Can we go?"

"Yeah, sure."

Within several minutes, the other teenage boys had regained their appetite and started to eat again. Aside from the TV, everyone was too busy eating to talk.

"Riku?" Sora asked suddenly.

"Mm-hm?" the silver-haired teen replied.

"I'm afraid I have to store this arm in the freezer. Otherwise, it will rot."

Slowly, Demyx sullenly set his fork aside. He wasn't hungry anymore.

* * *

Radiant Garden was home to a very unique shopping district, mouth-watering foodstuffs, and plenty of historical sites. That day, the group enjoyed themselves in the shopping district, going from store to store for souvenirs and stopping by anything remarkable along the way. There seemed to be a horror story for each of the city's scenic points, which Sora did not fail to inform everyone whenever they happened upon them.

"There was a great fire in this library," he said. "Ninety-two people died."

"A girl was found dead in this fountain," the brunette would comment. He said this just as Demyx had leaned forward to admire his reflection in the clear water.

"A serial killer hung one of his victims from this tree," the mortician's son stated this as Roxas was leaning against the said tree.

Riku realized that allowing Sora to continue would be detrimental to the entire group, and so he quietly took the mortician's son aside and gently reprimanded him for it.

"It's not that I don't like it," Riku explained quickly. "Really, Sora, it isn't. But Ax and the others kind of want to… relax, you know? They can't really do that knowing that just about everything in this town has some sort of bloody murder or something. Except for maybe Zexion," he added offhandedly.

Sora looked a little hurt. The silver-haired teen had never asked him to hide his behavior before, but he understood his logic. "All right," the brunette agreed.

Riku came closer and kissed him. "Thank you," he whispered. "Tell you what, I'll buy you that shrunken head you wanted a couple stores back."

"Really?" Immediately, the mortician's son brightened up.

"Yeah."

"The one with the stone knife in its head?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, the one with the stone knife in its head." Riku agreed, even though he knew he was probably going to have nightmares of the thing rolling around in their room.

* * *

[The Third Night]

"Huh?" Demyx groggily woke up in the middle of the night. He turned to Zexion, who was sleeping on his stomach next to him. He could have sworn he had heard someone call his name.

"Zexy, did you say something?" the mullet-mohawked teen asked.

The lilac-haired teen didn't respond. Demyx shrugged, deducing that it must have been his imagination, and let his head sink into the pillow.

He hiccuped.

"_One…"_

The sandy-blonde froze. A voice? Was he hearing things? _Hiccup!_

"_Two…"_

_Hiccup! _

"_Three…"_

It was the voice of a child—a young boy, Demyx realized.

_Hiccup!_

"_Four…"_

The mullet-mohawked teen was wondering if perhaps the fifty-five hot chicken wings, two packs of twizzlers and galleon of milk he had before bed were finally getting to him. Demyx chastised himself about his strange eating habits before sleeping. He really should stop. All that junk food before bed was probably making him hallucinate voices.

_Hiccup!_

"_Five."_

But on the_ slight_ chance that something supernatural was actually happening to him, he thought of all things paranormal associated with hiccups. Zexion had once told him that if one hiccuped one-hundred times they would die.**[2]**

'But that was a legend, right?' the mullet-mohawked teen thought. 'Just a legend…'

_Hiccup!_

"_Six…_

Then why was he hearing this eerie voice counting his hiccups? Was the boy intending to count the hiccups until… he reached one-hundred?

_Hiccup! _

"_Seven…"_

_Hiccup! Hiccup!_

"_Eight… Nine…"_

Demyx paled.

_Hiccup!_

"_Ten…"_

Panicking, the sandy-blonde climbed out of bed and raced to the kitchen, hiccupping the entire way. The voice followed him, counting.

"_Twenty-two…"_

_Hiccup!_

"_Twenty-three…"_

He could not even tell where the voice was coming from. It seemed to surround him entirely. Demyx desperately found a glass from the dishwasher, filled it with water and gulped it down.

_Hiccup! Hiccup! Hiccup! _

Unfortunately, when he was scared, the mullet-mohawked teen was also quite prone to hiccups.

"_Twenty-four… twenty-five… twenty-six…."_

Demyx drank another glass and another and another…

_Hiccup! Hiccup!_

"_Thirty-six… thirty-seven…"_

…until finally the hiccups—and the counting—stopped.

The sandy-blonde teen sank onto the kitchen floor, a heavy sigh blowing passed his lips. He slid his hand over his plump stomach. It was full of water and he felt a little sick, but at least his hiccups were gone.

Gripping the kitchen counter, Demyx pulled himself to his feet and then made his way back to bed.

* * *

[The Fourth Day]

"And it disappeared right when you stopped hiccuping?" Zexion questioned that next morning.

Demyx nodded. "It was so creepy!" he said. "Do think it's that sushi wara—"

"Zashiki Warashi," the lilac-haired teen amended.

"Yeah, that. Do you think it can do that?"

"Yes, it sounds like something a zashiki warashi would do. But it was probably just a prank. Zashiki Warashi are quite harmless."

"Great!" the mullet-mohawked teen said, bobbing up and down happily. "Wow, 'cause I was so worried and—"

"What did it sound like?" Sora said, from right behind him. Demyx let out a squeal of fright so sudden and so loud the brunette's ears rang.

"Oh," the sandy-blonde gasped, hand over his racing heart. "Sora, it's… it's just you."

"Yes, I overheard your conversation about the zashiki warashi," the mortician's son said. "I was just wondering how he sounded like."

"Um," Demyx thought for a bit. "Like a kid, I guess. A boy."

"Ah, I see." Sora seemed to be lost in thought. "And did you see him?"

"The ghost kid? Now that you mention it, no, I didn't."

"Hm." The mortician's son crossed his arms idly and fell silent. Before the two could question him further, the brunette strolled off.

* * *

[The Fourth Night]

Riku woke for his nightly bathrooms run to find the shrunken head looking at him. He jumped, because he was very sure he asked Sora to put that thing in his pack all nice and wrapped in a newspaper. But here it was, sitting on his pillow, _staring at him._ The silver-haired teen turned to ask Sora if he had—

Sora was gone.

Riku's brows furrowed together. Did something happen to him? No, nothing looked out of place. The silver-haired teen searched in the dark for his phone, turned it on and—squinting due to the brightness—called him. He only got his voice mail. After failing to reach the brunette once more, Riku began to text.

_Sora, where are you?_ He texted.

As he waited, the silver-haired teen went to the bathroom. When he finished, he opened the door and nearly stepped on the hideous head. It was now resting on the floor two feet from him.

Riku knew for a fact that the head had been on his pillow because he had been too afraid to move it.

"Warashi?" he called, looking about the room. "Are you playing with me?"

No response.

He knew it was a bit weird to talk to an empty room, but his father had always told him never to be shy about speaking to a zashiki warashi. They brought prosperity and had to be respected. But Riku heard nothing but silence. Feeling a bit foolish, the silver-haired teen shuffled around the head to get to bed. His phone chimed, and Riku instantly looked at his new text message.

_I'll be back by morning. _Sora replied.

Riku frowned at it. It was a rather enigmatic response.

True to his word, though, the mortician's son was back by sunrise.

"Good morning, Riku," Sora greeted, entering the room. The brunette's hands were free. His clothes—a simple denim jeans and a t-shirt—were clean and did not suggest where he had been.

"Morning, Sora. So where did you go?" the silver-haired teen asked, casually.

Sora did not answer immediately. "Hmm… It's a secret."

"Were you graverobbing?"

"Ah, no, I didn't. I should have, though…" the brunette added the bit distantly as he rummaged through his backpack for today's clothing set.

"And no, I don't intend on telling you," Sora answered before Riku could even open his mouth to ask. "No, there's no point in asking later," he responded to another yet-to-be-spoken question.

The silver-haired teen blinked.

"I do apologize, Riku," the mortician's son said. "But I'm afraid I would like to keep this to myself, if you don't mind."

Riku _did_ mind. He minded a lot. It wasn't like Sora to be so blatantly secretive, but the elder bit his tongue. If the brunette didn't want to say about his personal business, he should respect it.

* * *

The days of Spring Break flew by at an unfair rate. The group enjoyed the town's historic district—which was deeply intertwined with Radiant Garden's outdated, but undoubtedly fascinating water system—and its splendid Botany Pillar which had all species of plant life. They alternated between spending the day on the beach and the city.

Sora was becoming more and more reclusive with each sunset. He was more silent than usual, and at times it seemed that he was not paying attention at all. And then there was the fact that he was sneaking out at night to do… Riku still had no idea what, and the lack of information squirmed in the back of his mind like a bad itch. Whenever his concern grew unbearable, the silver-haired teen approached Sora on his observations. The mortician's son would simply brush it off and change the topic. But Riku noted that recently Sora seemed additionally distracted, and it worried him. Whatever was plaguing the brunette's mind seemed to be affecting his sleep as well. When the silver-haired teen would habitually wake up to go to the bathroom, he would either find the Sora missing or sitting with his back against the headboard staring into the darkness quietly. Of course, when Riku tried to ask if something was wrong, the mortician's son would gently, but adamantly, dismiss the subject or ignore him completely.

On the fifth day, Sora suddenly volunteered to make any home-cooked meals the group was having. To everyone's surprise, the brunette was actually a very good chef, despite the fact that everything he cooked looked like entrails or a murder scene. _Everything_, including pasta, soup, lasagna, cake and roasted chicken. The brunette often made elaborate, time-consuming meals which demanded his focus and often isolated him from Riku. ("I'm sorry, Riku, but I must pay attention to this first, lest I cause an accident," he would say. "We can talk later." Which they never did.) Regardless, Riku planned on attempting to bring up the topic again. However, currently the group's focus was on Roxas, who had a rather unusual story on the sixth day.

"I'm telling you, it's true!" the blonde protested. "I swear! One minute the room was covered in all these bloody handprints and the next minute everything was gone!"

"You probably just had a bad dream," Axel said.

"Are you sure it's not that evil ghost kid, the zashiki whatever-it's-called?" Roxas asked, as he turned to Riku.

"Warashi. Zashiki warashi," the silver-haired teen supplied. "And it kind of sounds like something it would do. I've never heard of a warashi doing anything so drastic, though. Maybe it's angry. Father taught me how to win a warashi's favor."

Sora was unusually silent throughout this conversation. Riku had thought that the news of the zashiki warashi would make him happy, but it seemed to make the mortician's son dive farther into thought. His face contorted in a very rare and grim way that made the silver-haired teen uneasy.

"Sora, are you—" Riku began, approaching the brunette from behind.

Sora jumped, whirling around to face him in complete surprised.

"Ah, Riku, it's you," he said. "I'm sorry, you startled me."

That was when the silver-haired teen knew something was very, _very _wrong. Because for an instant he saw a flash of fear in the brunette's eyes.

'I'm going to talk to him tonight,' Riku thought firmly. He'd had enough of this secrecy.

* * *

On the sixth night, Sora was quietly entering through the front door at about five o' clock in the morning. The villa was quiet, and it seemed that everyone was sound asleep. Shutting the door very silently behind him, he stopped.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Zexion?" Sora asked. Even in the dark, he could see the lilac-haired teen sitting one of the armchairs by the window, a book in his hands. He had obviously been waiting a while.

"So should you. What are you doing, Sora?" Zexion questioned, flicking on the nearby lamp. "You've been sneaking out for the past few days. Why?"

"Investigating," the mortician's son replied. He seated himself in the chair in front of the bookworm. They sat quietly for several minutes, and then Sora spoke again.

"I've been… noticing things lately."

"Noticing things?" Zexion repeated. "Is that why you've been so frightened?"

"Yes," Sora said quietly. The lilac-haired teen had to lean forward to continue hearing him. "Sometimes I can hear footsteps echoing mine—stopping when I stop, continuing when I continue. I try to turn around quickly, but there's nobody there, not a presence to be felt. Some articles of my clothing have also gone missing and recently when I've tried to sleep I can see someone standing over me, but I can't really make out who it is. It's… very unnerving to say the least." He made a very depressed expression, his fingers uneasily drumming on his knees.

"Why haven't you spoken about this until now, Sora?" Zexion questioned.

"Riku had asked me not to scare the others during this break and… and I didn't want to worry him," Sora let his gaze drop to his lap. Then he raised his head. "But it's all right now. I've figured it out. It's not a zashiki warashi, Zexion."

"Then what is it?" the lilac-haired teen asked.

Before Sora could answer, there came a footfall on the stair. They immediately became quiet, their heads turned to the origin of the sound. Seconds later, Riku groggily descended the steps.

"Zexion? Sora?" he mumbled. "Is that you?"

"Yes," the brunette stood up. "What are you doing up, Riku?"

"Bathroom…" the elder teen mumbled. "I was on my way there when I heard people talking. What are you guys doing?" He approached them.

"Discussing the herbal uses of the flytrap and begonia," Sora responded. "I had heard once of someone boiling them in a pot with sugar and honey to make a strange concoction."

"Oh, I see."

"Yes. I'll be up shortly, Riku."

"Okay, don't stay up too late, you guys. 'Night," Riku yawned as he ascended the steps.

"Good night, Riku," Zexion said.

Sora rose from his seat. The lilac-haired teen began to speak, to ask him to continue their conversation, but the brunette's eyes caught his for a moment, and he held his tongue.

* * *

Riku looked up when he heard Sora enter. The lamp on the bedside furniture was on, but dim.

"So are you ever going to tell me what's been bothering you?" the older teen asked as he patted a spot on the bed next to him. The brunette seated himself in the indicated space, letting his head fall onto the silver-haired teen's shoulder.

"No," Sora murmured.

Riku frowned a bit. "Sora… Look, if something's wrong, tell me. Let me help." He placed his hand in the brunette's. "I'll do everything I can."

A small, sad smile formed on the brunette's lips. "I'm afraid this is something I cannot allow you to help me with, Riku. Please, I ask you to respect my wishes and permit me to continue as I am."

The frown on the elder's face deepened. "I can't," he protested. "Do you really expect me to stand aside when you look so troubled?"

Sora didn't answer, his gaze cast downward. Instead, he buried his head into Riku's form, a small sigh escaping him as silence filled the room. The silver-haired teen's hand inched up to the brunette's shoulder and held him closer.

"…Sora, you're really tense," Riku commented with a worried expression, he could feel the tight muscles underneath the skin. "Here..." The older teen moved behind him, both hands on the other's shoulders, working through the clothing and at the knots.

Sora nearly melted. He _had_ been a bit stressed as of late. The brunette let his head hang limply; the massage felt so good. The silver-haired teen's hot thumbs began to rub relaxing circles at the spot where his neck and shoulder met. Sora shuddered pleasantly.

"Mmm… Riku," he murmured, absentmindedly.

"Feels good?" The elder asked, leaning in. He was so close to the mortician's son could feel his breath against his neck.

"Mm." The mortician's son bobbed his head.

Riku trailed one finger down Sora's spine as he moved closer and whispered into his ear. "Maybe we could do a little something? Something a little… erotic?"

A flash of red colored the brunette's cheeks. He lifted his head. "Riku…?" he asked. "Riku, what are you saying?"

Sora turned to face him. Taking the opportunity, Riku leaned forward and connected their lips. Somehow during the liplock, the eighteen-year-old managed to maneuver Sora beneath him on the bed.

"Riku, wait…" the brunette began, breaking the kiss. He placed his hand on Riku's collar to stop him. "Demyx and Zexion are close by—"

"Then we'll just have to be quiet."

"But Riku, I've never…" Sora's cheeks flushed darkly.

"It's all right, Sora. I just want to help you relax," the silver-haired teen said softly, his voice alluring and hot. "I'll be gentle."

He placed his hand on Sora's thigh and inched inwards, towards the area between—

A knife was at Riku's throat.

"Sora, wh-what are you doing?" the elder stammered, lifting his hands up and straightening himself completely. Sora sat up, his knife following Riku's neck.

"I know you're not Riku," the mortician's son replied steadily. "You can stop pretending now."

"What are you doing talking about?" Riku asked, keeping his gaze on the gleam of silver. "Sora, seriously, put that knife away! This isn't funny! Come on, you could really hurt me!"

Sora said nothing, his eyes fixated on the other's. Riku fell silent for several seconds, and then he dropped his hands and an annoyed expression swept his features. The silver-haired teen sighed and in a split second the knife flew from Sora's hand, clattering in the distance. Suddenly an invisible force pinned the brunette onto the bed, his wrists on either side of him. Riku—no, it wasn't Riku, even if it had his face—leaned forward.

"What gave me away?" he asked, tucking a lock of silver hair behind his ear. "I thought it was a perfect impersonation."

"It was," Sora said calmly. "You performed flawlessly."

"Buuuut…?" The older teen leaned down, so that their chests were together. He traced circles just underneath Sora's clavicle playfully.

"I just knew you couldn't be Riku. That was all. And besides, Riku would never be as assertive as you were. He would stop if I asked him to."

Riku frowned, as if he had expected a more grand explanation.

"So who are you?" The brunette asked.

"I'm Riku." The silver-haired teen grinned.

"You're not."

"I _can_ be."

"You're not," Sora repeated firmly.

The grin on Riku's face warped into a humorous smile. "All right, I digress. I'm not Riku. But I don't need to tell you who I am. You already know it, right Sora? You've got it figured out in that cute little brain of yours." He tapped his finger on the brunette's nose playfully.

"Terra," the brunette replied. "You were a serial murderer-rapist several decades ago, back when you were alive. You killed approximately nineteen adolescents. You inhabited this very house in your time and disappeared before the police could have you atone for your crimes. Your body was never found. Mostly likely it's trapped in some secret room deep in the lower bowels of this house."

"Wonderful!" Terra said, cheerfully. "Correct on all counts!"

"And all your little pranks, the pillow pyramid, the counting, it was all a show to make everyone believe you were a harmless zashiki warashi."

"Correct again, Sora!" The ghost held up a triumphant finger.

"But I figured it out anyway." Sora narrowed his eyes.

"Well," Terra tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "I sort _did_ send you some clues. You know… all the stalking, looming over you while you sleep, stealing your underwear… Oh, and the bloody handprint trick I pulled on your friend. That was for fun, too. I just love scaring you youngsters way too much." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling with a wily expression. Then he planted his elbows on each side of the brunette and propped his chin on his palms.

"So, want a victory kiss for being so smart, Sora?" A devious, almost predatory, smirk crossed his features.

"Don't make such an expression with Riku's face. It doesn't flatter him at all," Sora said, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh? And what will you do?" Terra tilted his head to the side, amused. "Be careful, you don't want to bruise this fine specimen of male, do you? Don't forget, I am—was…?" he thought for a moment on the proper word before deciding, "_am_ a psychotic killer, I can make your little boyfriend chew out his radial artery if I wanted to." The specter raised Riku's wrist to his lips, grinning, and clicked his teeth together twice.

A spark of anger flared in Sora's eyes and he struggled against the power holding him down.

"If you hurt Riku…!" He growled.

Terra laughed, giddy to see he had roused such a passionate emotion. "I won't hurt Riku, not if I don't have to."

"Then what do you want?"

The spirit stroked the brunette's cheek. "I want you," he said, grinning. He leaned forward until his nose was at the nape of the Sora's neck and inhaled deeply.

"Since I first saw you enter this mansion, I wanted you," the ghost murmured. "Your body is so sweet. Spiritually aware young humans like yourself are always saturated with such delicious pheromones. Your boyfriend had no idea of the prize he had in his grasp." Terra licked his lips, which did not suit Riku's face at all.

"But why go after me now?" Sora asked. "Riku had been coming here since he was a child. Why didn't you want him?"

"Oh, I did," The ghost nodded. "But I don't do kids, only sixteen-year-olds and up." He raised his thumb to punctuate his statement. He continued on,

"I was waiting patiently for little Riku to grow up and let me say, I am pleased with how well he's developed." Terra giggled. "I _was_ going to go for him, his last visit was when…? He was fifteen, I think? So I waited. I knew he'd come back eventually. But who should he bring back… but you. Darling, delicious, scrumptious you…"

The specter crushed his mouth against the brunette's; his lips hot and demanding a response while Sora remained impassive. "Mm. Be a good boy and behave while I fuck you, Sora," he murmured. His fingers gripped the brunette's shirt and yanked it up to his neck. Terra wasted no time in exploring him, his excited hands stroked every inch of skin they could find. The mortician's son squirmed. It was so different from how Riku would touch him. It felt awful, disgusting even.

Terra moved lower, his fingers dipping underneath Sora's waistband—

"That's far enough, Terra," the brunette said, a serious look on his face.

Terra twitched his lip irritably. He looked up at the brunette with a short hum. "Sora, stop distracting me. We've just gone through this. I have your boyfriend hostage, and you won't hurt me. So please just let me violate you, already." There was an aggravated inflection in his voice that was actually quite amusing, but Sora stood his ground.

"You misinterpret me. I'm not going to hurt you, and neither am I going to let you do as you please."

"Is that so?" The ghost laughed. "Then what are you planning on doing then?"

* * *

It had taken Zexion only an instant to figure the first part of Sora's clue.

"_Discussing the herbal uses of the flytrap and begonia."_

Flytrap and begonia. In the ways of the Wicca, these flowers had very specific meanings. The flytrap meant "deceit" and the begonia, "beware."

Given the circumstances in which Sora said those words, it could only mean that the Riku that had interrupted them wasn't entirely Riku. The lilac-haired teen shook his head at himself. He had given Sora far too little credit. Zexion couldn't even tell something was wrong.

"_I had heard once of someone boiling them in a pot with sugar and honey to make a strange concoction."_

At first Zexion was confused with this part of the brunette's message and had thought that "sugar and honey" was the focus and went to the cabinet they were stored in. He searched about, knocking on the wood, moving aside spices and found nothing. Considering further, the lilac-haired teen then contemplated on the word "pot" and went to the specific drawer. It was quite a large cabinet next to the sink. Using his book light, Zexion inspected the wood and the pots. It took him several minutes to discover it: a small, well-hidden indention in the back of the cabinet that indicated a trapdoor. He removed all kitchenware, took a knife from a drawer, and wedged the door open. It reluctantly slid to the left, revealing a narrow shaft and a ladder to lead the way.

Zexion climbed down the ladder. Several feet into his descent, he was ready to gag. The scent of rotting flesh hit him hard and grew heavier and heavier with each passing foot. The stench became so strong the lilac-haired teen was forced to stop as his body was overtaken by a powerful coughing fit. He felt dizzy, but he knew he had to continue on. Sora was counting on him. The moment his feet hit solid ground, Zexion immediately brought his collar up to his nose and waved his book light around the room to find some sort of light switch. The lilac-haired teen found one to his left. He flipped it on.

The room was bare, and several claw marks—made by human hands, the bookworm noticed grimly—and blood stains littered the walls and floor. There were metal loops attached to the walls, along with a chest to his far right. Zexion did not want to think on what was inside that box. There was also a coiled group of chains in one corner and a chair lay propped on the opposite wall.

The body was near the center. How the man had met his end, Zexion did not have time to contemplate. He strode forward, bringing out the salt, lighter fluid and matches.**[3]**

* * *

Terra suddenly had a feeling something was wrong. Someone had found it. His…

In the corner of his eye, he saw Sora smirk. And it was then did the spirit realize.

"You little bitch!" he roared. "You've been stalling me!"

He leaped off the bed, and threw open the door—

It slammed closed tightly and did not budge.

The poltergeist whirled around to see the brunette sitting on the bed, his legs folded and calm as can be. With a snarl, Terra lunged for him, his hands around Sora's throat. The mortician's son did not even flinch, his composed royal-blue eyes meeting Terra's blazing sapphire ones.

"Let me out of here," the spector growled.

"No," Sora countered. "_Release me, Terra_."

To the spirit's complete shock, he did.

"You made a very grave mistake coming to me when I knew your name."**[4]** Sora said.

Terra snarled. "You think you can hold me, pretty-witty Sora?" he said icily, his fists shaking with anger. He could not move, not even a little step. Just how strong was this human?

"Don't insult me. I've been playing in the supernatural world since I was a toddler," the brunette replied, his voice was full of confidence. On the inside, he was secretly relieved. He didn't know how much longer he could have distracted the ghost before Zexion figured out his message and got to the body.

Terra let out a cold laugh. "Clever boy," he said bitterly.

The next moment, the spirit threw his head back with an anguished cry. Riku's eyes fluttered shut and he fell. Sora bolted from the bed and caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Riku?" he called, shaking him. "Riku!"

After several seconds, the silver-haired teen's eyes cracked open. "Sora…?" he muttered.

A thankful smile—the largest Riku had ever seen—spread on Sora's face and the brunette leaned down and kissed him.

"I was so worried!" he said, brushing the older teen's hair from his eyes.

"What… what happened?" Riku asked.

Sora gave a little sigh. "I believe I can explain everything now," he said. "But first let's find Zexion, I'm sure he would like to know the complete truth as well."

* * *

"Now that we're all seated comfortably, I can explain fully," Sora said. They were all sitting in the dining room table, Riku on Sora's right and Zexion on the left.

The brunette first started with explaining his actions to Riku. He spoke of the strange occurrences singular to him, and his hunches that a true zashiki warashi did not dwell in his place. Then he started on how he drew his conclusions.

"I did a bit more than grave-robbing on my ventures out," Sora said. "I was also speaking with the local mortician, Cid—a colleague of Dad's—who not only provided me with notable specimens to take home, but information. Specifically, information on very intriguing deaths. That led me to the infamous Terra murders, which Cid knew in great depth as he had prepared the bodies himself. He even showed me one he had kept…" A dark gleam overcame the brunette's eyes. "But that's beside the point. In passing, Cid said that Sephiroth's villa was once Terra's home before it was renovated. From there, I pieced together that perhaps it was Terra's ghost, not a warashi, that inhabited the place. Unfortunately, Cid also mentioned that Terra's body—which was needed if the ghost was to be vanquished—was never found by the police, so I figured that there must be a secret room. It was very possible. After all, the victims were never found until Terra wanted them to be found, and his house had been searched thoroughly, but his body was never recovered."

"How did you find the hidden room?" Zexion asked.

"That was a bit of luck," Sora admitted with a smile. "I started systematically on the first floor. From my own experience, I knew it was most advantageous for the room to be underground. So, if you remember, I chose a rather flippant time to demonstrate my culinary abilities."

"You were looking for an excuse to search the kitchen," Riku said.

"Yes," the brunette nodded. "I knew Terra was watching me within these walls, so I had to explore without drawing too much attention. Yesterday morning, I just so happened to notice some nail marks—human nail marks—on the inside of the cabinet while I was looking for a pot to use. I was very fortunate to find it so quickly.

"I was going to head down there myself last afternoon, when I sensed that Terra's presence had become… less intense, I believe would be the way to describe it. I knew that he had probably taken possession of someone. I quickly found out it was Riku and I discontinued my plan." Sora glanced at Riku. "I knew if I tried to move anywhere near the body Terra would retaliate at your expense. I needed someone to incinerate Terra's remains while I distracted him. As ghosts are usually bound to a single building, I snuck into town tonight—quite sure that Terra wouldn't follow me—to seek Cid's help, but he had left to preside over a wake. I came back, disheartened."

"And you ran into me," Zexion said.

"Yes, by a most magnificent stroke of luck, I might add." Since Zexion knew the rest of the story, the mortician's son shifted his attention to Riku and continued to enlighten him. "I managed to relay a coded message to Zexion, knowing he had the ability to decipher it. I then went to divert Terra's attention while he went to destroy the remains."

When Sora finished, they continued to sit in silence. Zexion could tell that Riku wanted to say something to the brunette, so he quickly excused himself. He was in desperate need of a shower, anyway.

"You seem very troubled, Riku," Sora said, turning to him once the lilac-haired teen was out of hearing range. The silver-haired teen did not look at him, gathering the words he wanted to say.

"Yeah, I…" He began, his cheeks turning red. "I was awake through most of it, Sora."

"Most people are."

"So I saw… what he was trying to… do… to you." A sick pit of shame welled up in Riku's stomach. "I could hear his thoughts… what he wanted—It was sickening. I tried to stop him… but couldn't do anything…"

Sora rose from his chair and grasped his hand, a gentle expression on his face. "You mustn't feel guilty, Riku," he said. "You couldn't control any of it."

"But I still feel… like… What if…" he struggled with his words. "What if Zexion hadn't gotten to his body in time?"

"I suppose I would start chatting about my dull preschool years, and then I would move on to how I had always been emotionally crippled since childhood when my pet turtle, Fluffy, was hit by a car in front of my very eyes."

Riku stared at him.

"…I was trying to be funny," Sora explained. "I never had pets."

"Would you have let him do it?" The elder's turquoise gaze met royal blue.

"I was going to," The mortician's son answered almost immediately and Riku's face fell in an instant. "If it would keep you from getting hurt, I would have let him."

The silver-haired teen felt the nauseous taste of bile rise in his throat. He turned away. Sora spoke again.

"But I changed my mind," he said. "I knew it would hurt you more if I did. But I couldn't hold him long, not with him fighting me with all his strength and not without harming you. Which was why I opted for the least restrictive measures and reserved the more potent ones when the situation called for it."

The answer still did not satisfy Riku. Fretting, Sora bent down and grasped his hand.

"Please tell me what to do, Riku. I don't know what to do to make you feel better…" He said helplessly.

The elder said nothing as he looked away from Sora in disgrace. Then, Riku took the brunette's face in his hands and kissed him. Sora was surprised, but he didn't pull away. He kissed back as best he could. The silver-haired teen kissed him again and again and again, each time become more passionate. Then Riku's lips descended to the younger adolescent's nape, then down to Sora's bare chest (at some point his shirt was removed), planting kisses wherever he went. The mortician's son moaned with each fiery contact, his body twisting with pleasure. Yes, _this_ was Riku.

"Where else did he touch you, Sora?" The silver-haired teen murmured.

A rather loud moan escaped the brunette's lips as Riku kissed his stomach. Sora slid a hand onto his thigh.

"Here," he replied, his face growing hot. Would the older teen really…?

Riku motioned for Sora to lie down, his hands on the clasp of the brunette's jeans. It was then did the silver-haired teen catch sight of Axel and Roxas gawking at them from the hallway. The two stopped immediately, too frozen with shock to even begin to explain.

"No, please, continue. We'd hate to interrupt you," Axel said, trying so very hard not to laugh at their faces (both teens were tomato-red and Riku's mouth was slack.)

"We—uh…" Roxas explained. "We heard some noises. We thought it was the zashiki warashi."

"But it was just you two…"

"…getting it on," the blonde added, clearing his throat. "So, we'll just be… We'll be going. Come on, Axel." Roxas grabbed hold of his arm and hauled him up the stairs.

Sora immediately clapped his hand over his nose, willing his nasal blood vessels to remain calm. Riku pressed one last kiss at the brunette's stomach before lifting his head to him. It was too late to salvage the passionate mood, though, with Sora dangerously close to hemorrhaging.

"Hungry?" the elder asked.

"Starving, actually…" the mortician's son said, lowering his hand. Another episode averted.

"Well, we're already up. We might as well start breakfast." Riku handed the brunette his shirt and helped him to his feet. "I actually liked that pasta thingy you made yesterday."

"Oh, did you?"

* * *

[The Seventh Day]

"Ax, shut up," Riku snapped.

"I didn't say anything, Riku," the redhead said with an innocent grin. He stuck in fork in his pasta and swirled it. "But just out of curiosity were you the pitcher or the catcher?"

The silver-haired teen glared at him.

"I don't understand your reference," Sora spoke up, confused. "Riku and I weren't playing baseball."

"It's a metaphor, Sora," Riku said. "I'll, uh, tell you later."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

The elder scratched his head thoughtfully, his cheeks turning the faintest of red.

"…Is it indecent?" The mortician's son pressed.

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"What are you guys talking about?" Demyx whined. "I want to know to!"

"NO," Riku said almost instantly.

The mullet-mohawked teen was about to argue when Zexion decided to change the subject.

"It's our last day here," he said. "What should we do?"

They all agreed for one last day on the beach, where they skimboarded with mixed results (Sora, Riku and Axel managed to skim for several meters while everyone else face-planted in the sand), caught fish with their bare hands (which Sora was unsurprisingly good at), barbequed the fish, and buried Demyx in the sand until around one o'clock. Then they rushed inside, bathed quickly and raced to the bus station where they got on the two o'clock bus home.

"This was an _awesome _break!" Demyx said as they all settled into their seats. "We should totally brag to everyone about it!"

"I'll say," Riku said quietly to Sora. "Father should pay you. You got rid of a lethal ghost residing in our villa."

The mortician's son let out a small laugh as he leaned against him, laying his head on his arm. Riku smiled and, in turn, rested his cheek on his cinnamon-brown tuffs comfortably.

* * *

"How was your vacation, Riku?" Sephiroth asked when his son came home.

"Great, Chichi-ue," Riku said. "We saw the city, went into the Botany Pillar, had fun on the beach, and bought lots of nice souvenirs. Oh, and I got possessed by a psychotic serial killer-rapist-ghost who nearly sexually assaulted Sora. But everything's fine now. Sora and Zexion got rid of it."

The silver-haired man glanced up from his laptop with a curious eyebrow. For once, it seemed that his father's omnipresent eye did not know of this.

"No, Chichi-ue, I'm not joking," Riku said. "The zashiki warashi you thought inhabited our house was actually the ghost of a murderer."

"Hm. I knew something was special about that place." Sephiroth began to type furiously on his laptop.

"I'm fine, by the way, Chichi-ue," Riku said, monotonously.

"I knew you would be fine. Sora was with you. He's very capable."

The eighteen-year-old sighed. "I'm going to go recount the events of our Spring Break to Haha-ue*, now. Excuse me."

But before Riku completely left his father's presence, he paused. "Chichi-ue?" he asked, turning to face him.

"Yes?"

"I would like you to teach me martial arts."

Sephiroth lifted his gaze to him, this time he seemed fully attentive. "Interesting proposition, Riku. You've always been a pacifist, why the sudden change?"

The silver-haired teen fell silent for several moments, thinking of something Sephiroth could not figure. "…I can't keep letting Sora protect me," he said. "I want to be able to protect him, too."

His father let out a short hum. "Accepted," he said. "We'll start this weekend then."

"Thank you, Chichi-ue."

* * *

***Haha-ue: a very formal term for 'mother.'**

**[1] "**To find that there was a pillow pyramid waiting outside for him." **This pillow pyramid is from a second volume of manga series known as **_**Ghost**_** (or **_**Eerie Queerie, **_**as it's known in the USA) about a teenager who can communicate with ghosts. It's a shonen-ai that's really cute and kinda random and neat. I really like it. I hope any **_**Eerie Queerie **_**fans recognized this pyramid.**

**[2] "**Zexion had once told him that if one hiccupped one-hundred times they would die." **I'm not sure where this is originally from, but I stumbled upon this legend when I read **_**Eerie Queerie **_**volume 2. **

**[3] **He strode forward, bringing out the salt, lighter fluid and matches. **Okay, this is from the TV series **_**Supernatural **_**for all you sad non-**_**Supernatural **_**fans who did not recognize it. I'm not sure how legitimate this lore is, but to get rid of a ghost (as per **_**Supernatural) **_**you're supposed to salt and burn the body. I don't know it's lame or cute that I keep putting in these references to other things. Oh well.**

**[4] "**You made a very grave mistake coming to me when I knew your name.**" This bit from a witchcraft book I have which states that if you know someone's name, and with enough magic, you could control them and will horrible things to them if you wanted. In this case, Sora is using Terra's name to command him. **

**About Terra. O_O I don't know. I just don't know what the hell happened to make me personify him like some sort of gay weirdo. Like, what the crap? What is it with me and tearing down the images of manly Kingdom Hearts men? First it's Leon, now it's Terra. **

**Got a bit Rated-R towards the end, didn't it? Without meaning to, I've managed to increase this fics M-rated potential exponentially… O_o **

**MY GOD. THIS IS A LONG CHAPTER. I hope I didn't bore you guys and I'm really sorry if I did. :( Please know I didn't mean it.) I've been getting into Sherlock Holmes so that's why I kinda sorta put a bit of a mystery spin onto this chapter. God, I love Sherlock Holmes… I love **_**Sherlock**_**, the TV series. Dear, sweet Benedict Cumberbatch, you probably will never read this, BUT I LOVE YOUUUUU!**

**SOOO... one last round of applause to**_** copycat-capycot**_** for betaing!**

—**As always, please review. See you all next chapter!**

_**|Corrossive Moon|**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh my God, I… actually think I can call the amount of reviews I had a flood. I… I had a flood of reviews. **

…**I think I'm gonna cry… **

**Okay, I actually finished this chapter a while ago but I held on to it because I thought I was gonna change a couple things. …but I didn't. Curses! _**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. **

* * *

_Chapter 11: Cinderfella Love and the Lethal Dinner_

"You seem very troubled today, Leon," Cloud said as he twirled his fork in his salad, which was dressed only with olive oil and lemon.

"I am," the brunette answered, moodily picking at his food with his fork.

"Is it Sora?"

Leon nodded, a bit happy that his lover could read him so well. "He and Riku are seeing each other."

"Oh, that sounds great!" the doctor said enthusiastically.

"It _is_ great…" the mortician said, markedly depressed.

Cloud gave a knowing smile, leaned forward and pointed his fork at him. "That's not the face of a winner," he remarked.

The brunette sighed. "I am happy for my son, and Riku is quite kind to him, I just…"

"The thought of him sexually active makes you want to rip your hair out, right?"

"Sexually active? Oh, Good Lord…" Leon let his face sink into his hands, distraught.

The blonde placed his fork aside. "Leon, you have nothing to worry about," he said.

"…I accidentally walked in on them last night."

"And they were…?"

"Making out." The mortician said grimly from his hands. "They were groping and everything. It was… actually more than—If I were to use that baseball metaphor, they would have been on second-and-a-half base. I found it rather disturbing…"

"Oh." Cloud, who was quite good at reading people from his long medical career, immediately understood the problem.

"You unconsciously feel more protective of Sora than usual because you feel ill at ease that Riku can touch him like… well, like an adult," the blonde added the last bit delicately. He could tell this subject made his boyfriend incredibly uncomfortable.

Leon nodded again, like he seemed to understand. And then another wave of worry overtook him. "And then when Sora asked me if he could go on a Spring Break vacation with Riku—I nearly lost my mind!" The mortician waved his arms in distress. "Sora was so excited… I couldn't say no! And I was so happy that he was getting out of the house to spend time with his friends…"

"And he and Riku were dating back then?"

"Yes."

"_Oh._" Cloud raised his eyebrows. "So that's why you seemed so gloomy that week." The doctor gave a relieved sigh. "I thought it was me."

"No, no, it wasn't you at all. I just kept worrying about them. Isn't it customary for teenagers in Spring Break to become willful?"

"Leon, I'll say it again, you really have nothing to worry about. You've done a fantastic job of raising Sora, so he's capable of finding a suitable partner for himself. And Riku's a very good kid. His parents are respectable, morally-sound people. His mother more so than his father, but anyway…" The blonde sipped from his drink. "You should have seen the first boyfriend _Roxas _brought home. He had several piercings, owned a motorcycle, no license and no virginity." Cloud shuddered visibly.

The brunette felt himself smile. "Your experience in this area makes your advice all the more comforting, Cloud."

* * *

It was a cloudy Monday in early April when Axel strolled happily to the usual lunch table, tray in hand, and stopped in his tracks.

"Dude, what did you do to yourself?" the redhead asked with wide eyes, pointing a finger at the large, black-purple bruise that spread along the left side of Riku's jaw and cheek, and then to the cast on Riku's left arm, which was supported by a sling.

"What did _my father_ do to me, you mean…" the silver-haired teen muttered, explaining himself for the umpteenth time that day.

"Did your dad hit you?" Axel's voice turned serious. Psychotic patriarchy be damned, fathers hitting sons was something he did not stand for.

"Technically yes, but it was because we were training."

"Training?"

"Yeah, I asked my father to teach me karate and he agreed. Yesterday he sort of—uh—round-house kicked me and I wasn't fast enough to dodge it. I hit my arm against something while I fell. I wasn't sure what it was because I passed out afterwards. Do I look that bad?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah." Axel nodded, blatantly. "How did Sora take it?"

"He blew out the incandescent lights, and short-circuited any computers, laptops or electric devices within a five meter radius," Riku answered. "And I think he was going to head to my house to kill my father if I didn't stop him. You should have seen my _mother_. She threw a fit." The silver-haired teen shuddered as he remembered Setsuna ranting and cursing—with enough lung power to raise the dead—at his father, who for once was rendered as harmless as a kitten. She was not happy with bringing her son back from the hospital again.

* * *

_"BAKAYAROU!*" Setsuna shrieked at Sephiroth on the drive home. "Are you trying to kill our son? Kutabare!**" Her small hands gripped the wheel so hard the rubber was bending to her will. Riku sat quietly in the back, anxious that Sephiroth (the man whom he had feared most of his life) was pressing himself against the passenger seat window as if trying to put as much distance as he could between his wife and his person. It was the sole gesture of fear the silver-haired teen had ever seen from his father._

_"Nan da sore!***" Setsuna shouted. "Why does he even need to learn things like martial arts? We're not in a war, Sephiroth!"_

* * *

Riku didn't know his mother could be so terrifying. She even managed to snatch Sephiroth's sword away (a nearly unthinkable maneuver) and refused to give it back for as long as Riku's cast stayed on his arm. The silver-haired teen frowned, wondering if his father was still going to continue their lessons. Sephiroth had given him a rather nasty look during breakfast.

The redhead stuffed a French fry into his mouth, thinking. "So what's with the sudden interest in learning the art of karate?"

"So I can kick your skinny ass," Riku said, grinning as he sipped his milk.

"Haha, Riku," Axel said, tonelessly. "You're so funny."

The rest of their group made their way to their usual lunch table, where they all (except Sora) systematically followed a pattern of spotting, freaking out about, and then asking about Riku's bruise and cast. By the time he finished explaining to their final friend, the silver-haired teen had become so self-conscious he flipped the collar of his blazer up and angled his tray in front of his injured arm.

"Oh _no_…" Tidus said, dragging the last word with a significant tone of trepidation.

The entire table saw what he was looking at. Selphie Tilmitt was coming towards them, Rikku Strong at her side. Though these girls were kind enough, they had a rather pushy way of getting people to do what they wanted. Selphie, a petite, bubbly brunette girl, spoke fast and precisely, much like an auctioneer. She was also the best at the art of persuasion. Rikku was taller than Selphie, a genius at Chemistry and Physics, second-best at the art of making people do her bidding, and Selphie's best friend. She was the brunette girl's secretary in some ways as she took the more behind-the-scenes and planning approach.

"Hey guys!" Selphie said, practically bouncing up to their table.

"Selphie, what are you doing here?" Tidus asked, who was the most apprehensive about the brunette girl's powers.

"Relax, Tidus, this has nothing to do with you!" The small girl said without looking at him. "Sora, Riku, I need you two to be part of a Cindefella play that I, the President of the Drama Club, am putting together. Sora, I need you to be Cinderella…"

Sora tilted his head to the left, intrigued.

"…and Riku, I…" She finally caught a full view of the silver-haired teen's face and trailed off. "What happened to your face? And your arm?" She asked.

"I was in the car with my parents when we crashed into a crocodile. Then the crocodile took out a knife and tried to cut this gross scar onto my forehead.**[1]** But then he realized that he didn't have opposable thumbs to grip the knife, so he just decided to show off his right hook and his super-special, amphibian, arm-breaking technique instead," Riku lied so well and so fluidly his friends looked at him in astonishment. There might be an actor in the making yet.

Selphie, of course, did not believe one word, and carried on. "Well, then…" She snapped her head to Axel. "Axel, I need you to play the prince."

The redhead choked. "What—why?" Axel asked with a ghastly look.

"Well, given the circumstances, you and Sora are perfect for the part."

"Get someone else," the tall teen said irritably.

"Yeah, _no, _I don't think so," Selphie quipped. "I want to work the play from a different angle."

"Then why don't you just use two girls?_!_"

"Bor-ing!" The brunette girl sang. "Girls being romantic isn't art at all! Besides, none of the girls can fit into the prince's costume. They're too small and too short."

"So order a new one!"

"It's going to take too long."

"What the hell makes you think I'm going to—"

Rikku spoke up. "Sora, you've acted before in Cinderella, yes?" She whipped her head to him, of course she already knew, she just wanted to confirm.

"Yes," the mortician's son said. Riku glanced at him, surprised.

"Then you're good enough." The blonde pulled out a notebook and hastily began to make notes.

"But I was casted as a tree—"

"Technicalities!" Selphie said, hands on her hips.

"Well, _I've_ never acted before—" Axel began.

"Silence, Axel," Selphie said impatiently. "I already know for a fact that you played Romeo in _Romeo and Juliet_ in your second grade, Othello in _Othello _in your fifth grade and Biff in _Death of a Salesman _in your seventh grade." This made just about everyone turn and stare at redhead, who had never mentioned _that_ before. Axel's cheeks flushed red.

"I'm not go—" the redhead began to argue when Selphie nodded to Rikku. The blonde girl shoved her hands into her pocket and fished something small out.

"An Extra Rare 1969 Solid Copper Zippo Lighter," Rikku announced as Axel's eyes bulged. "Don't ask me how I got it. I'll give it to you if you say yes."

Axel stared hard at the lighter, practically salivating from the fact that it was so close to him.

"…I hate you," he muttered at last.

"So it's agreed! Sora," Selphie turned to him. "I don't see why it'll be a problem for you. It'll be a great opportunity for you to grab the spotlight and you've been in the play before. It'll be easy-peasy. And…" she leaned down and whispered in his ear. The brunette's ears perked several seconds later, and then he nodded.

"Great! So, practice is Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays after school starting from next week. Don't be late! Ta-ta!" With that, they left.

"_You _were _Romeo_?" Demyx blurted, fighting back laughter.

"Shut up, Demyx!" Axel snapped.

* * *

"I didn't know you were in a play before," Riku said as they made their way to Sora's house. The mortician's son was carrying both backpacks on his back, despite Riku's protest that he could carry his school supplies himself.

"In first grade," the brunette admitted, apparently not bothered by the weight of their school supplies. "And I was only a tree. I'm nowhere near as proficient in acting as Axel apparently is."

"It's a guilty pleasure of his," the older teen replied. Of course, he and Axel had been friends back then, and he had witnessed the redhead's passion for the arts first hand. "He doesn't like to disclose it."

"Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?"

"That Axel's playing the prince and I'm Cinderella?"

"A bit," Riku said. It did sort of make his stomach twist at the thought of his boyfriend and his best friend acting to be romantically involved. But he trusted both of them.

"I won't let him kiss me." The mortician's son said this resolutely.

"I know you won't." The silver-haired teen grinned and gave him a quick kiss. "Only I get to do that."

Sora's cheeks flushed a furious red as Riku pulled away. "So I guess we won't be able to study together like we can."

"I'll come to the practices," the eighteen-year-old said, shrugging. "Besides, I'd like to see you act."

The brunette gave a hollow laugh. "It's not that exciting."

* * *

Axel Lea was not a happy camper that next Wednesday afternoon. He disliked Selphie's bossy, preppy manner entirely, and he couldn't believe that he subjected himself to this abuse for another four weeks. And to top it all off, his best friend was glaring at him from a distance every time he was within four feet of Sora. The redhead sullenly stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Is something the matter, Axel?" Sora asked. He approached him as Selphie was scolding Pence, who was casted as the footman, about eating food during practice.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, Sora," the taller adolescent replied. Thinking a bit, he turned to the mortician's son. "Hey, Sora, what leverage does Selphie have on you?" Axel knew Sora wouldn't have done the play unless she had something he wanted.

"A dead baby with mermaid syndrome. All nice and neat in little jar. **[2]**" The brunette's lips curled into his shadowy, thin grin. "Selphie's uncle is a prominent OB-GYN doctor. It will be no problem for her to obtain such a specimen. I'm excited. I don't have one of those yet." His slit-like smile widened.

Axel was trying not to throw up. He covered his disgust by suddenly becoming occupied with his script.

It was at that point did they become acquainted with the ebony-haired, amber-eyed Vanitas Cole, who strolled over to them.

"Afternoon, my dear maiden," he said, taking Sora's hand and kissing it briefly in one swooping bow.

Before the mortician's son could even register what had just happened, Vanitas turned to Axel. "Hey, babe, how you doin'? Come here often?" And then proceeded to squeeze the redhead left butt cheek. Axel yelped, leaped several feet away from their new friend and protectively covered his bottom as the ebony-haired teen laughed hysterically and swayed backwards.

"Dude, are you high?" Axel asked, catching a distinct scent of drugs from the other's clothes.

"Yeah." Vanitas laughed again. "Vanitas Cole, pleased to meet you." He extended a wavering hand, which Sora shook with interest and Axel with a bit of reluctance. Vanitas settled between them against the wall snugly before speaking again in a rather fast tone.

"Dull play, isn't it? Not a speck of blood or gore anywhere. Did you know we're not doing the original version of Cinderella?"

"We're not?" Sora asked surprised.

"There's an original version?" the redhead questioned.

"Yes," he said this to the mortician's son before turning to face Axel, "and yes. Awesome story. One stepsister looses her toe, the other loses most of her heel and then both of them end up pecked blind by a mass of birds." Vanitas pulled his shoulders back, stretching, and dropped them with a loud sigh.

Sora looked sorely disappointed. "I was hoping we were doing that version."

"Yeah, same here. Wanna see my monkey's paw?" He yanked up the chain around his neck to reveal a hideous primate's hand dangling from it.

"_Ooh_," the brunette said, deeply intrigued, while Axel jumped away from the thing.

"Holy sh_—_!" the redhead exclaimed.

"Relax, man," Vanitas chuckled, "it's already dead." The ebony-haired teen twirled the paw around his finger idly.

"Everyone!" Selphie shouted. "We're going to start from the middle of act one, towards the end of scene three! The sisters have just torn up Cinderella's dress and have left for the ball! Sora!" She pointed a finger at him. "We're starting with your line!"

"Huh?" The brunette flipped through the script. "Ah, yes. /Sob, sob, sob… I wish I could go to the ball. Sob, sniffle. Sob./" He said this in monotone, with absolutely no feeling.

Axel coughed to cover up his laugh. Selphie frowned at him, meaning to reprimand him for his lack of emotion when Xion took the initiative and hopped out.

"/What's this? What's this?/" she recited, flourishing her wand. The ebony-haired girl was in her element. "/Dear sweet girl, whatever is the matter?/"

"/My goodness,/" Sora continued in his robotic manner, completely unable to relay the surprise in the character's words. "/Who are you?/"

"/I'm your fairy godmother!/"

"/_I_ have a fairy godmother?/"

"/Why, everyone has a fairy godmother!/"

"Oh. I… see…" The brunette's eyes fell on his script again. "/Why are you here, fairy godmother?/" he asked.

"/I heard you crying, darling. And I've come to ask what has caused you so much grief,/" Xion said.

"/I can't go to the ball,/" Sora recited plainly. He was supposed to be wailing with sorrow. "/My terrible stepsisters have ruined everything. Now I can't go. /"

"/Nonsense! Everything's possible if you believe, child! Just watch! Bibbiti-bobbiti-boo! /" The ebony-haired girl waved her wand about fantastically. "/Ta-da! A carriage, a footman, a driver and… Hm. I think I may have missed something… But I can't figure what it is…/" Xion tapped her wand to her chin tentatively.

"Fairy godmother," Sora said. "I would much rather have severed heads of my horrible stepfamily, please. And a baseball bat to hit them with."

Xion looked absolutely horrified, Axel and Vanitas laughed outright (along with several other cast members), and Selphie slapped her forehead with her palm. Meanwhile, in the bare rows of the auditorium, Riku tried to keep himself composed.

Selphie moved her hand from her face. "Sora, that's not the line."

"I know. I thought it would sound better," the brunette said. "It's more realistic. Hardly anyone is this passive."

After three hours of Selphie attempting to coax viable emotions out of Sora (and chastising him for any dark impromptus), everyone went home.

* * *

"I'm a terrible actor, aren't I?" Sora asked en route.

"Yeah, you are," Riku grinned. "But I still love you."

"I thank you for your honesty." The brunette let out a deep sigh.

"By the way, Sora," the silver-haired teen questioned suddenly, trying to sound casual. "Who was that guy with the black hair you were talking to on stage?" _The one who kissed your hand,_ was what Riku meant to say.

"Ah, that's Vanitas, he's casted as the King. Apparently he just transferred a week ago. He's very intriguing, and I think we're friends. He has a monkey's paw," the mortician's son added cheerfully.

"I saw." Riku could spot the rotting thing from where he was sitting. He felt a twist of irritation in his stomach when he saw how Vanitas and Sora were getting along so well, but he realized that it might be due to the fact that the brunette had finally found someone who shared his macabre sense of humor. Begrudgingly, the eighteen-year-old gave Vanitas the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

The Cinderella practices went on with great difficulty for Selphie as she had many problems with Sora's acting (though he had no trouble memorizing the lines, at least.)

"Sora, you're supposed to be happy," Selphie said.

"I _am_ happy," he said, his face looking devoid of the feeling entirely. Riku, being able to recognize Sora's minute facial features, was probably the only person to believe the mortician's son. The silver-haired teen did understand Selphie's problem, though.

"You don't _look _happy," the director pointed out.

"But I am," Sora insisted.

"Ooookay. Let's try this, then, Sora, can you smile for me?"

"What?"

"Smile."

"Oh…" It was difficult for the brunette to try smiling when he didn't feel like smiling. But since the director asked, Sora attempted to do so. In short, jerky intervals, a jagged, dark, strained smile curled on his lips, frightening everyone around him.

It was at times like these when Selphie felt extremely grateful for Riku's presence during the rehearsals for he was able create thought processes that translated into emotional queues for Sora.

"Okay, Sora," Riku coached him when the brunette had problems depicting sorrow, "what's the saddest thing you can think of?"

"Not being with you," Sora answered, which made the silver-haired teen's heart warm.

"All right, when you have to be sad, try thinking of not being with me. Forever."

* * *

The Saturday before the performance, Roxas Strife took one last gulp as he rang the doorbell of the Leonhart residence. Several seconds later, Leon opened the door, holding a dead cat by the neck in his left hand. The blonde's eyes immediately focused on the lifeless animal, his jaw hanging.

Leon tilted his head to his side. "Ah! Hello, Roxas! What brings you here this fine day?" he asked.

"Oh—yeah!" Roxas snapped out of his daze. "U-um, is… uh… is Sora home?"

"Yes, he is. Do come in." The mortician stepped aside to allow the teenager into his house.

"Sora, Roxas is here to see you!" Leon called. "Excuse me, Roxas. I am quite busy today. Sora will be down in a minute."

"Yes, sir," the blonde answered politely. "I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Not a problem." Leon bowed respectfully. "Please give my regards to your father." Then he turned around, opened a secret passage in the wall and disappeared. Roxas raised an intrigued brow at this, and was about to inspect the hidden door himself when he heard Sora descend the stairs.

"Good afternoon, Roxas. Is there something you need? Please, sit." The brunette gestured to the couch as he crossed the living room to Roxas' side.

"Yeah, um, I… The thing is…" The blonde was struggling for words as he sat down. He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "It's about… oh, man…" he groaned and placed his palms over his eyes.

Sora titled his head sideways curiously. "Is there something the matter?" he queried.

"No, that's not it. I'm… it's… It's really hard for me to ask you this," Roxas admitted.

The mortician's son waited patiently.

"Sora, could—uh—that is, would you mind giving up your Cinderella part to me?"

The brunette's head slanted the other direction. "You want to be Cinderella?"

"Yeah, I just… well, I thought that it would be easier on you if I took the part. I mean, you and I are about the same size and Riku probably isn't too keen on you and Axel acting… together." A dark red flushed the blonde's cheeks and suddenly everything became clear.

"Roxas, do you like Axel?" Sora asked straightforwardly.

If it was possible, Roxas' cheeks turned redder. "N-n-no!" he stuttered, giving himself away completely. "I mean, sorta—m… maybe...?" He let out a large sigh.

"Yes," Roxas confessed. "But he doesn't like me back, not the way I want him to. I-it's nice being Axel's friend, but I can't help thinking—I just want…" He dropped his gaze, his fists clenching tightly. Several minutes passed as he gathered himself.

"I just want a chance," the blonde said finally. "If… if maybe I can be in the spotlight with him, Axel might…"

"Okay," the mortician's son spoke up.

"Huh?"

"I said, okay. You can have the part."

"R-really?"

"Yes. I'll get you the script now," Sora stood up. "I suggest you get started on reading it as soon as you are able. You're going to perform it on Monday."

* * *

"_EH?_! What do you mean you can't play Cinderella?" Selphie exclaimed that Monday. "Opening night's _tonight!_"

"Yes, yes, I realize," Sora said, waving a hand to calm her. "But I'm afraid there's some terrible business I must attend to. However, I've secured a replacement. Roxas has agreed to play my part tonight."

Selphie looked over the brunette's shoulder, where Roxas was standing. The blonde teen waved at her meekly.

The brunette girl huffed. "Well, I suppose," she said finally. "At least he's the same size as you. Sora, you do know that the deal's off then, right?"

"Regrettably, yes," the mortician's son answered.

"Well then, begone!" She flicked her wrist out in dismissive manner. "We have to get the new Cinderella accustomed to his environment." Selphie turned to Rikku. "Rikku! We need a blonde wig!" Then she glanced at Roxas. "Come, Roxas!" she said briskly.

The blonde quickly followed her, mouthing a quick "thanks" to Sora as he passed.

"What made you decide to quit so suddenly?" Riku asked as they left the school. He knew for a fact that his boyfriend didn't have anything planned today.

"No particular reason," Sora answered evasively. "I am sorry to put your work for naught, though, Riku."

"It's okay." The silver-haired teen shrugged. He wiggled the fingers in his cast absentmindedly. "So, I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're free tonight, then?"

"I suppose," the mortician's son said after a thought. "I was planning to head to the graveyard and poke at some pancreases tonight, though." He said this with his dark grin. Then he turned to Riku once more. "But do you have anything in mind, Riku?"

"Well," the eighteen-year-old slipped his good hand into the other's. "My parents are really formal and stuff so they've been hassling me to invite you and your Dad over for dinner and all that parent nonsense and if… you're not… too… busy…?" He trailed off nervously.

"I'd love to," Sora said. "I've been meaning to ask your Dad to show me his weapon collection for some time now."

* * *

It was 6:50 PM, ten minutes before the first show began. Roxas was on stage left, already clad in his shabby dress and trying not to throw up. He didn't realize so many people would be coming. All of them were going to be watching him as he paraded about in a dress. Roxas gulped down a faint hint of bile in the back of his throat as he tried to recall his lines. He couldn't remember them.

'Oh, God, I'm screwed…' he thought dismally to himself. 'I'm going to make a total idiot out of myself in front of the entire school. And I'm going to do it wearing a dress of all things! I am so _fucked._ I feel sick.'

"Roxas, you don't look so good," Axel pointed out. The blonde was a very distinct shade of green. "Are you okay?"

"F-fine," Roxas responded, flattening out his apron.

"Didn't know 'fine' was code for 'shitting my pants,'" Vanitas said, surprising Roxas who didn't know he had crept up behind him. The ebony-haired teen was dressed in purple and gold, the colors of royalty, and a crown adorned his head.

"Hey, Vanitas," the blonde greeted.

"'Sup." Vanitas responded. He pulled out a bottle from his costume's pocket, popped it open, emptied out a pill and slipped it into his mouth.

"Want some?" the ebony-haired teen gulped, holding out the bottle to Roxas, who stared at it. "It'll calm you down."

"Wait, what is that?" Axel asked, stepping forward and taking the medication from Vanitas' hand. He eyed it suspiciously.

"It's Valium… mixed with a bit acid," Vanitas added with a lopsided grin.

"_Are you serious?_!" The redhead exclaimed in a hushed whisper. In his shock, the bottle slipped from his hands and—surprisingly—Vanitas managed to catch it with ease.

"Where did you even get that?" Axel questioned as the other pocketed the bottle.

"Made it myself," Vanitas grinned. Neither of the other two knew if he was lying or telling the truth. The ebony-haired teen giggled and then swayed towards Roxas, who caught him immediately.

"Hey! Hey, are you all right?" the blonde asked.

Vanitas laughed, struggling to plant his feet on the ground. "Dude, I… am… _awesome_." Another laughing fit overtook him and he could speak no more. Roxas casted a concerned look to Axel, who waved it off with his hand.

"Yeah, he's always like that," the redhead said.

"I'm surprised they haven't suspended him," the shorter said, lugging the limp body to the closest wall and letting it rest there.

"Me too, Roxas. Me too."

Selphie rushed to them. "Show time everyone! Narrator, I need you out there!" She said to Zell, who nodded and walked on stage.

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a father and a daughter…" he began.

* * *

With his jittery nerves on overdrive, Riku nearly sprinted to the front door once he heard the doorbell and opened it quickly.

"Hey," the silver-haired teen greeted his boyfriend and ignoring his front door's spazzing light.

"Hello, Riku," Sora replied. He was dressed a bit more formally than usual, with a long-sleeved white shirt and a black, button-up vest. The brunette took the liberty of wearing denim jeans, though, to add a touch of informality. Sora stepped inside.

"Good evening, Riku," Leon said, following after his son. The mortician was wearing a charcoal-black suit. "You'll have to forgive my attire. I've just come from a funeral."

"Oh, it's no problem," the eighteen-year-old said. He caught sight of his parents near the stairs and stepped aside.

"Leon, Sora," Riku said, "these are my parents." He gestured to his father and mother.

"Konbawa.**** It's a pleasure to meet you," Setsuna Yorushi said warmly. "I'm Setsuna." She was a pale, tall, willowy woman with long, light-blonde hair. Though her appearance lent to a more frail character, the fact that she married—and was able to control—her husband spoke volumes about her. Since he was very small, Riku knew better than to anger his mother. In contrast to Sephiroth's off-putting, cold nature, Setsuna was usually sweet and eccentric. Once her fighting spirit was roused, though, she was just as ruthless as the silver-haired man.

"Squall Leonhart," Leon introduced himself. "But do call me Leon. And this is my son, Sora."

Sora bowed his head respectfully. "Good evening, Ma'am."

Unable to resist herself, Setsuna swept him into her arms. "You are so _cute_!" she said happily, nearly crushing the petite brunette against her chest.

"Th-thank you," Sora managed.

Once Sora was released, Sephiroth held out his hand to the younger Leonhart. "Sora," he addressed simply. "It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise, sir," the brunette's eyes fell on the katana at Sephiroth's waist. "I see you're still taking care of your beautiful sword. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to show me the rest of your collection tonight as well."

The silver-haired man let out a small hum of amusement, and nodded once. Then, his eyes fell on Leon for the first time.

"Leon," Sephiroth said, extending another handshake to the tall brunette. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face. You're incredibly elusive."

Leon took the hand with a jovial look on his face. "I'm very good at playing tag."

"Clearly." The faintest hints of dark aggravation slipped into the silver-haired man's face. He was not fond losing. "A bit too old to still be playing games, hm?"

Leon only smiled in return. "I'm afraid I can't help it if I am better than you." The light above them flickered. Just once. "How does the expression go? Don't be a sore loser, Sephiroth."

"You're rather impertinent."

The light sputtered once more. "Your hair is very girlish."

Riku suddenly had a terrible feeling that somewhere far, far away in the dark, dark night a tornado was wrecking havoc and mayhem on an unsuspecting town due to the clashing forces of his and Sora's fathers. However, it seemed that he was the only one who had noticed the two men's aggravation as his mother—who had been far too excited to finally meet Sora—placed an arm behind the petite brunette's back and led him into the dining room.

"Come, come, now. The food's becoming cold," Setsuna said.

"Chichi-ue?" Riku called his father's attention. "Haha-ue's calling."

The two men shifted slightly towards the dining room, still facing each other tensely. Each was reluctant to turn first.

"Anata*****," Setsuna called again.

"Dad," Sora said calmly.

Together, the two men finally shifted away from each other.

* * *

Back at school, the play was proceeding well. So far, no one had slipped up. Roxas was on stage right, waiting for his queue. He had just changed into his ornate, frilly, completely emasculating gown which must have weighed at least ten pounds and was insufferably hot.

It was the ballroom scene, Axel the Prince sat bored at his throne, while Vanitas the King managed to lumber about without looking too unseemly. Though he delivered his lines with punctuality and fairly fine form, the ebony-haired teen had almost knocked over the set twice. When his entrance came, Roxas strolled onstage acting fascinated and frightened.

Axel promptly acted surprised the moment the blonde entered. The astonishment on his face was not false; he hadn't seen Roxas in the ballroom dress before and he… actually looked really good. The taller teen almost forgot his line as he came up to the blonde.

"/Care to dance with me? /" The redhead asked, offering his hand.

'Did Roxas always blush that darkly?' Axel brushed the thought off; he couldn't think on it yet. They were performing now.

"/Yes, /" Roxas responded.

The taller moved, maneuvering them through the swirling crowd. Roxas could only focus on Axel, and how close they were together, how nice it felt to move with him. All the while the blonde's heart was thumping hard in his chest; it was like he really was in a fairytale.

'But he doesn't see me,' the blonde realized sadly. 'He sees a girl.' Roxas bit his lip nervously. He caught Axel's eye and immediately dropped his gaze in embarrassment.

The music faded away, the crew shifted the scenery and rolled out the new one smoothly.

They were on a balcony, with the starry sky above them, the night air was still and quiet.

"/Who are you? /" Axel asked.

"/No one in particular, Your Majesty, /" Roxas replied, curtsying respectfully. "/I am… That is… I enjoyed dancing with you tonight. /"

Axel moved forward, clasping the blonde's hand. He was much closer to the shorter teen than he had been in practice, which surprised Roxas. Unbeknownst to him, the taller teen always enjoyed adding a bit more to his performance when in front of an audience.

"/Your name, please, /" Axel said softly with half-lidded eyes and a tender smile, "my mysterious lady of the night."

The small bit of improv was perfect, completely appropriate for the charming prince, and that made the blonde's chest uncomfortably tight and his stomach painfully twisted. The gentility in his voice was not for him, and it stung like a poisonous barb in his heart.

It wasn't for him.

Suddenly the clock struck twelve, the loud, bold tones resonating throughout the auditorium.

"/I have to go, /" Roxas said, stepping back.

/"What—? Wait! /" The Prince protested. "/But you can't go! /"

"/I'm sorry, I must! /" The blonde turned to make his desperate flee offstage—

In one fast, smooth movement, Axel's hand snapped to his wrist. The redhead moved in front of him, brought the blonde's chin up with his other hand and kissed him. The crowd gasped. Selphie, who was on stage right, dropped her script while the rest of the actors and stage hands gaped. Roxas almost jumped. All the blood in his body rushed to his face and his heart leaped to his throat.

"Please, stay," the taller teen said, pulling away ever so slightly. Their faces were so close together.

This wasn't in the script! What was Axel doing?

"Roxas…" the redhead whispered. "Your dress."

Quickly, Roxas glanced down and saw it had gotten snagged somehow on the stage and would have split the lower half of the dress in two had Axel not stopped him.

Oh. Of course.

The blonde easily yanked it free. It was easy to do so as the redhead's body was blocking the action from the crowd.

"I'm sorry!" Roxas cried, pushing away from Axel as he rushed off-stage. He slipped off his glass slipper, as they had planned, before disappearing into the curtain.

Applause rang throughout the auditorium before the intermission was announced. Most of the audience rose up and filed out, eager to stretch their legs after sitting for the past few hours.

* * *

It didn't even strike Riku as strange that Sora and Leon were completely accepting of the rather Japanese nature of his house, how he would refer to his father and mother as "chichi-ue" and "haha-ue" within in home (which was usually subjected to much ill-treatment), the kotatsu that was still in use in the middle of the living room, and he wasn't even the slightest bit suspicious at how Sora happened to correctly "guess" where his mother had misplaced the sugar. The silver-haired teen was far too worried about Sephiroth and Leon to think on those things. The two fathers were prone to glaring at each other silently, communicating with the slightest of eye twitches and squinting. They were certainly polite enough when they addressed each other, but there was a definite under tone that suggested a double meaning behind all their pleasantries. The eighteen-year-old eyed them anxiously, ready to tuck-and-roll at any given moment. Even Sora looked a little nervous.

But other than that, the dinner was going smoothly, much to Riku and Sora's relief. Thankfully, Setsuna, being the most normal out of the adults, was able to uphold a conversation that didn't have any hostile subliminal messaging and wasn't about weapons or medieval tortures. Once or twice, Riku was able to get away with carefully slipping his fingers into Sora's hand. The brunette's eyes would glance at him, and the traces of a true smile lit his soft cheeks.

Surprisingly, Sora seemed very taken with Setsuna, talking animatedly with her and only rarely dropping a dark, death-related comment. The petite brunette looked as if he enjoyed her energetic ways, how she was prone to pinch his cheeks in delight, and insisted on spoiling him with treats ("sweets for the sweet **[3]**," she would say.) Leon would glance at Sora subtly out of the corner of his eye when Setsuna babied him, and Riku could have sworn that there was a hint of warmth and relief in his eyes.

For a moment, the silver-haired teen vaguely wondered what happened to Sora's mother. He _had_ noticed he had never seen her and that Sora and Leon never spoke of her.

"So, Sora," Setsuna asked, eagerly leaning to her left, where the brunette was sitting. "How do you like dating my son?"

"Haha-ue!" Riku cried, aghast.

"Riku is wonderful and very important to me, ma'am," Sora answered truthfully. "There's no one else I'd rather be with."

The silver-haired teen turned to him, touched by his words. Setsuna beamed and turned to Leon. "Leon, you're son is so very charming," she said.

"Thank you," the mortician said, forking more food into his mouth.

"Yes, you should keep an eye on him," Sephiroth spoke up. "Riku seems to be set on taking his virginity sometime soon."

Sora choked and nosebleed. And the same time, Leon snapped his head to the eighteen-year-old with a vicious stare, completely oblivious of his son's plight. Riku froze, his heart seized by a mind-numbing amount of sheer horror, too petrified to help Sora with his massive hemorrhaging.

"_Chichi-ue!_" The eighteen-year-old protested in a sharp whisper, aghast.

"Oh? Did I misinterpret the situation two nights ago?" the silver-haired man continued idly. "Then you must have been wrestling then. Good work, Riku. You had Sora underneath you for a good thirty minutes. And apparently his lips had magically turned to candy, because you looked like you were trying to devour him. Perhaps he was also sick with a fever because you had removed half of his clothes as well."

Riku's jaw dropped, and whatever small amount of blood he had in his face left. Leon slowly rose from his seat, his steel-gray, blazing, livid eyes fixated on the silver-haired teen. Ever so subtly, the mortician gripped a salad fork in his right hand.

'Oh my God…' Riku thought. 'He's going to do it. He's actually going to kill me.' All the nightmares he had of Leon, all the terrorizing thoughts of the mortician dooming him into oblivion, it all culminated to one salad fork. All the silver-haired teen could do was wait and hope that Leon would be merciful enough to aim for a vital organ.

Meanwhile, Setsuna was too busy gathering a large an amount of napkins for Sora's nosebleed to notice the danger and the brunette was gradually becoming light-headed from blood loss. Amidst several instances of his life flashing before his eyes, Riku saw the faintest of smirks creep on his father's face and it was then he realized: Sephiroth was getting back at him because Setsuna took his sword away.

'Of all the stupid, childish…!' The eighteen-year-old thought angrily. That incident was a month old! How could his father still hold that stupid grudge!_?_

"Haha-ue, Chichi-ue used our vacation money to buy a set of samurai armor!" the silver-haired teen shouted.

Sephiroth glared at him. Riku managed to retort with a triumphant grin as his mother slammed her palms onto the table and proceeded to rant at her husband. Sora, who finally managed to control his bleeding, immediately came between his father and his boyfriend.

"Dad, I can explain…" he began.

* * *

Roxas didn't stop running; he bypassed his dressing room completely, ignoring the compliments and comments. He ran, bursting through the back doors and sprinting down the street. He didn't care that he was still in his absurd costume, he couldn't take it anymore. The blonde didn't know where he was going, or how he was going to find his way back home, but he… he just wanted to be anywhere but the school.

Why did he think he could do this? Did he really think that he could prance around in this ridiculous dress and simply be satisfied with this fallacy? That maybe perhaps Axel would…

Roxas slowed to a stop, his chest was tight and tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

The clock had struck twelve. The magic was over. The stars were made of glitter and cardboard, the balcony was made of plywood, the shrubs were plastic and the prince was looking for a princess.

The blurred vision soon became unbearable and Roxas reluctantly brushed the back of hand underneath his eyes, ruining his make-up.

"Roxas?" came a voice behind him.

The blonde froze. No, it couldn't be…

"Roxas, what's wrong?" Axel asked. His footsteps could be heard.

"Don't!" Roxas barked, his back to him.

The redhead stopped, shocked that his friend would resort to yelling so quickly.

"Don't…" the blonde repeated, determined to keep the sobs from his voice. "Don't get any closer to me." He didn't want him to see him like this. It was too humiliating.

He heard Axel shift in his spot. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

The redhead nodded, not believing him for a second. "Why did you leave?"

"None of your business. Now go away!"

"I can't go back. Not without my Cinderella." A small grin slipped onto his face when he said that.

"Deal with it!" Roxas said tartly, his sadness quickly giving way to anger. "You're just going to have to carry on the play without me!" He stormed off.

Axel frowned; in a few short strides, he was in front of shorter teen.

"Why were you crying?" the redhead asked.

"None of your business," Roxas snapped, aggravated that he was so persistent. "Move, Axel."

"No," Axel said resolutely. "Why were you crying?" he repeated.

"Just leave me alone!" With an exasperated sigh, the shorter teen whirled around and walked in the opposite direction.

He was grateful not to hear Axel's footsteps following after him. But he was only two yards from the redhead when Axel spoke again.

"Do you know why I got into acting? Why I really got into it?" he asked, raising his voice a bit so Roxas could hear him properly.

"Haven't the slightest," the blonde snapped.

"A fan."

Roxas paused. Axel smiled. The taller teen continued.

"My first play was _Romeo and Juliet_, and I hated it so much," he laughed. "We drew the cast out of this box. It was by pure chance I was casted as him. Sooo…" Axel ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "My Mom was a teacher at our school and she made me play Romeo because she didn't want to look bad in front of her friends. I kicked and screamed every time she dragged me to those awful practices." Axel grinned and took several steps forward, grateful that the blonde did not budge. "But oddly enough, as the days went by, I began to like it. I thought it was great to just be another person—to be awesome, brave and witty." Another step forward. Roxas was still.

"Opening night came," Axel went on. "I was so nervous that I was shaking. But then, when I went into my dressing room I noticed that there was a note on my costume. 'You can do it! You're awesome,' it said. So, not to toot my own horn, but I totally kicked ass as Romeo." The redhead smirked as he laced his fingers behind his head. "But I don't think I could have done it without those words." Axel paused. "I never found out who left that note. It wasn't my Mom or my Dad or any of my friends. It wasn't until years later did I finally figure out who'd written it." He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket, brought out a small piece of paper—a small little slip with a message written in red crayon—and held it to his eyes.

Roxas' jaw went slack. He couldn't believe the taller teen had kept it…

Axel looked right at him and grinned. "You still write your capital Ys and lowercase As the same, Roxas."

The blonde's was at a lost for words. "You… you knew?" he choked out.

"Yeah, but it took me a while to remember," the redhead said with a vague expression. "Your Dad would pick you up late because he was always busy, right? So you would come to the gym to watch the practices."

"So… you've known… all this time?"

"Around freshman year, yeah. I also knew that you liked me, too," Axel said casually. "I'm not dumb. I noticed you looked at me a lot."

If Roxas' jaw could unhinge, it would have.

The taller teen beamed. He was enjoying the total astonishment in the blonde's face too much. "Why do people always assume that I'm some sort of oblivious idiot?" he asked.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Roxas shouted so suddenly the redhead jumped.

"You dick!" the shorter cursed again, stalking towards him. "Fucktard! Do you any idea what I've _been_ through? Shit! Goddammit, Ax—Fuck! FUCK YOU! YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK, _YOU SUCK!_"

By then Roxas was two feet from him, panting. Axel, who had never actually seen someone throw a bitch fit up close, stared at him. The blonde continued to shout in his face.

"I'm wearing this stupid dress and I had about four hours of sleep during the weekend trying to memorize all these lines so I could woo you and you're telling me that you've known everything all this time!_?_ WHORE!" Roxas jabbed his middle finger upwards so harshly it would have hit Axel's chin if the redhead had not leaned back.

"I was going to tell you at the end!" Axel said in his defense. "That improv during the last act wasn't just improv, you know!"

"Screw you! I demand one thousand kisses as compensa—mmph!" Roxas let out a muffled shout as Axel drew him close and kissed him.

"One," the redhead counted, grinning. "Ten now, ten after the show. Selphie'll have our heads if we don't get back." With that he kissed the blonde again. "I'll give you the other nine-hundred eighty kisses later. And I'll give you another one thousand after that. And a thousand more."

Axel pressed his lips against the shorter teen's. "/I've finally found you, my darling, /" the redhead recited a line from the last scene. "/I'll never let you go again. /"

"/And I will never wish to be free, /" Roxas rehearsed back. Clenching the redhead's costume hard, he rolled his weight to the tips of his toes.

Four, five, six, seven kisses.

Eight, nine, ten kisses.

* * *

"That was terrible…" Riku muttered as he and Sora sat on the Yorushi doorstep.

"It wasn't too bad," the brunette replied, trying to comfort his boyfriend. "I've certainly seen worse."

Riku groaned and let his face sink into his drawn-up knees. The mortician's son became worried. He leaned in.

"At least it wasn't boring," Sora said.

In the end, Setsuna and Sephiroth were locked in a heated argument about the family's expenses while Sora explained to Leon that everything he and Riku did together as a couple was completely consensual and they didn't have sex yet. Then the petite brunette stated clearly that there was no need for his father to overreact and respectfully requested for Leon to place the fork down and spare Riku's life. The eighteen-year-old had carefully stayed quiet the entire time, hardly breathing for fear of attracting the mortician's attention.

Things had quieted down since then. Riku's parents had moved their conversation elsewhere. The two teens retreated to the front of the house while Leon had…

"Where's your Dad?" the eighteen-year-old asked nervously, lifting his head to look around.

"More than likely he's observing us from the distance, brooding," Sora said with what seemed to a pout on his lips. "I'll talk to him again. He should calm down by tomorrow."

"He hates me," Riku said.

"Mostly," the brunette said simply. "But not entirely."

"So he hates at least fifty-one percent of me?"

"I suppose you could say that." At this point, the figure seemed more like 98%, but Sora decided not to reveal that. The eighteen-year-old dropped his head onto his knees again.

"Your parents are interesting, though, Riku," Sora said suddenly, changing the subject. "How did they meet?"

"In a tournament," Riku said gloomily, depressed about his parents' violent past. "They fought in the finals. Haha-ue won second place while Chichi-ue won first place. They've been together ever since." He lifted his head and glanced at him. "What about your parents?"

The brunette's mouth tugged downward into the beginnings of a frown, but not quite.

"Dad isn't my real dad," he said casually. "My real dad's dead. And so is my real mom. They died the day I was born, trying to drive to the hospital when my mom went into labor." Sora paused for a moment, thinking hard. "Do you remember last November? When we went out on that rainy day?"

The silver-haired teen's eyes widened as everything clicked together. His lips moved, like he was going to say something, but he didn't. So Sora continued.

"They met by chance at school," the mortician's son said. "Dad says my real Mom threw a horse at my real Dad's head. I never really understood what that meant." He scratched his head, mentally noting to ask Leon about it later.

"I'm sorry they passed away," Riku said.

Sora waved off the concern gently. "It's fine. It hasn't bothered me in a while."

Not since the day he slept over at the Yorushi household. For some reason, Sora had always felt at peace about his parents' deaths since that time.

The brunette continued. "Besides, I know they wouldn't want me to worry about it. I don't know a lot about them, but I've heard… that they were very carefree people."

Never before did Riku ever see Sora open up this much to him. It was another side to him, another precious shade of the brunette. He moved closer to Sora, intertwined their hands and brought them to his lips. At the contact, the mortician's son glanced at him—surprised—and then gave him a quick kiss before allowing his head to rest on the other's shoulder.

All in all, they supposed the dinner went rather well.

* * *

**Translation notes:  
***BAKAYAROU!:**"dumbass" in Japanese  
** **Kutabare!: **"Fuck you" in Japanese  
*****Nan da sore?_!:_** "what the hell?" in Japanese  
******Konbawa.** "Good evening" in Japanese.  
*******Anata.** Literally translates to "you" in Japanese. But when spouses use it to address their partner, it can be translated to "dear" (the noun of endearment.) **

**[1] **"My parents… my forehead." **For any **_**A Very Potter Musical**_** and **_**A Very Potter Sequel **_**fans out there. I'm not a fan, but my sister is and she recites all her favorite lines to me at all hours. It was funny at first but now it's just annoying. Anyway, [1] is paraphrased from my favorite line in **_**A Very Potter Sequel**_**.**

**[2] "**A dead baby…a little jar." **If anyone's read **_**Cirque**_** by **_**Annie Christ**_** (who is an author with a talent that shames mine) this is a bit of irony. The Axel in **_**Cirque**_** has a collection of dead babies in jars. **

**[3]**"sweets for the sweet."**If anyone can correctly tell me where this line is from, I will totally do backflips for you. (And maybe write an extra chapter in your honor. …Maybe. It's a definite possiblity.) I'll give you a hint: It's from a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. **

**I finally have an excuse to write in Vanitas! :D Yay! I love him. Yeah, major OOCness. In this story I kinda portrayed him as a sort of perpetually-stoned dude. Hahahaha. I was going make him be really sexy, but I thought that would be boring (there's a lot of characters I've written as sexy) so I went for cool druggie instead. **

**And I am TOTALLY mangling the culture of Kingdom Hearts. Like, what the fuck, I'm putting worlds like Radiant Garden and Halloweentown as cities and then I throw Japan for some odd reason. Oh well. **

**I'm happy I finally got to write about Riku's mother (she's an OC, by the way. Yeah, I'm so lame) because I've been wanting Sora to meet her for a while. NO, Sora didn't meet her when he slept over at Riku's house that time 'cause she had gone out that day. (The real reason is because the bad authoress wasn't sure if Riku's mother should exist yet. :P)**

**Yeah, this chapter is mostly an AxelxRoxas chapter, so I'm sorry for those who aren't too crazy about that couple either. UM. I have a vague recollection of another author doing this same AkuRoku kind of line, (with Axel being an actor and Roxas auditioning for the part of his love interest to get closer to him) but I haven't seen it updated lately, or something. Anyway, I only saw it after I finished up writing the main plot of this chapter and I didn't want to change it. So there. I really DID NOT want put an extra Akuroku chapter. I've done it way too many times. I feel that's like… tacky. Well, I'm still gonna end up writing extra chapters, anyway. :P **

**-See you all next chapter!**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	12. Chapter 12

**I made another boo-boo. Vanitas' last name is Cole, not Fair due to a inconsistency in the plot. Vanitas Cole.**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

_Chapter 12: Sora and the Talking Corpse_

Riku ducked his head just as Vanitas launched a rubber band at him, causing the rubber band to hit Axel's right cheek. Both teens turned to the laughing ebony-haired teen and glared.

"Sorry, Riku, I can't help it!" Vanitas said. "You're like a ninja! That is sooo cool!"

Riku rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Vanitas, my father's bad enough. I don't need you to do it too."

Riku had come a long way in his training within a rather short time. (He figured it was probably due to the fact that both his parents were martial artists.) Sephiroth was even pleased with his son's progress and had now taken it upon himself to set up traps in their very home to keep Riku on his toes. They weren't too life-threatening; trip wires, random objects being hurled at his direction at all hours of the day, nails, and thumbtacks. Sephiroth told him he was saving what he called "the serious education" for later. The training wasn't without benefit. Riku's body had taken a smoking-hot definition that made girls swoon as they watched him during P.E. and boys turn away from him in shame in the changing rooms.

Vanitas began to ready another rubber band but Riku quickly snatched it away from him.

"Seriously, man. _No,_" Riku stated firmly.

Vanitas Cole had become part of their lunch group, easily accepted due to his eccentric, laid-back personality. What was stranger than the random topics he'd bring up was his conspicuous drug habit and how they had come to accept as normal. Many of his friends had to admit, Vanitas wouldn't be as interesting if he weren't stoned or drunk on a regular basis.

For a short while, it was a mystery as to how he wasn't expelled; then it was revealed that—drugs or no drugs—Vanitas was a genius. Though he did no homework, skipped or slept in classes, and frequently failed quizzes, he aced every test without so much as lifting a book and excelled Rikku Strong in chemistry and physics. A testament to that fact was a rather sophisticated catapult he built for a class project that shamed all others. Granted, the catapult was used to shoot Vicodin pills into his mouth from a distance of thirty feet, but it was still rather impressive. However, the ebony-haired teen's brilliance would only spring to life when he had a profound interest in the subject (which was rare and the topic usually had to involve ninjas or illegal substances,) or if he were unequivocally forced to act. Vanitas avoided critical thinking like the plague, much too happy with settling down with a pill or two.

The ebony-haired teen easily held a conversation with anyone else in the group, but most of the time he would cling to Sora, who enjoyed his company greatly because they had many things to talk about as both of them were biological minds interested in morbidity. But this time Vanitas was sitting next to Riku, talking fast—as he always did—about his martial arts skills.

"By the way, Riku, where's Sora?" he asked. The ebony-haired teen was also prone to abruptly changing the subject, which made keeping up with his conversations a bit of a task.

"I actually don't know," the silver-haired teen said, glancing around. "He should've been here by now."

"I didn't see him in class," Roxas said. "Do you think he's up to something?"

"There aren't any Wiccan holidays nearby," Zexion added, his eyes still glued to his book.

Riku frowned. It wasn't new for the mortician's son to disappear from school, but usually he would tell Riku ahead of time. The silver-haired teen decided that he would stop by the Leonheart residence after school.

Suddenly a throwing knife shot between the heads of at least a dozen students and right towards Riku, who caught the thing inches in front of his face easily. Riku noticed that there was a small note tied around the handle of the throwing knife. He undid it.

_Riku_, it said, _if you are reading this, you are more than likely not dead and have advanced to the next part of your training: lethal weapons. Congratulations. _

_Your Father. _

"Aww, man…" Riku grumbled. "I hoped we wouldn't get to knives for another two weeks…"

Demyx, who had been sitting in front of the silver-haired teen, stared down at several newly cut strands of sandy-blonde hair on his lunch tray and tried to keep himself from hyperventilating. Meanwhile, Axel thought on who he should be afraid of more: His best friend's boyfriend or his best friend's father.

* * *

At 4:00 PM in the old mansion, underneath the floorboards, Sora sat Indian-style, one knee bouncing happily as he sipped his fruit juice box through a straw. In front of him was the corpse of a petite young female, approximately seventeen-years-old, lying on its back with its jaw dangling from the right side (the joint apparently unhinged at some point.) The body was mostly brittle bones with bits and pieces of decomposing flesh. The arms were at its sides, open palms down, and it was clad in simple jeans and a graphic shirt. From what Sora could tell, the body died of poisoning as there were no marks of violence. The rancid odor of the rotting tissues—a gag-inducing scent—thickly filled the room but Sora was far too happy with his accomplishment to mind.

'I've finally done it…' he thought happily. 'I've finally found a body!'

The mortician's son had made his discovery around 6:45 in the morning while he was breaking open a wall with a sledgehammer on a distinct impulse he had, through many experiences, learned to promptly obey. Sora spent the remainder of the day delicately moving the corpse out of the wall and admiring his handiwork.

The brunette rose from his spot. He should go and tell his father about this. Leon would be happy to see his finding.

"Ah, he's leaving already," came a voice. A girl's. But there was no one else here, he was sure.

Sora glanced down at the body and tilted his head to one side.

"Did you just speak?" he asked.

For a moment, the corpse said nothing. Then, a lively little light began to glow in the back of the body's empty eye sockets.

"Can you hear me?" The corpse's voice was soft and clear, with an unusually deep tone for a girl.

"Yes," the brunette replied. He instantly plopped back down, his eyes trained on the corpse. "I'm Sora. What's your name?"

The corpse did not answer immediately. "Aqua," it said after a while.

"Good afternoon, Aqua." Sora bowed as well as he could. "I've never talked to a corpse before. Ghosts, yes; corpses, no."

"You talk to ghosts?"

The brunette nodded. "Yes, often."

"Ah, I used to talk to ghosts, too!" she said.

The mortician's son blinked in surprise. "You did?"

"Yes, I would play Knock on the Wall[1] with them. What month is it?"

"May. Early May to be more specific."

"What year?"

Sora told her.

"Oh. I've been dead a long time."

"Yes, judging by the state of your decomposition and on your bones, I'd venture around fifty years."

"Just about." The light in the corpse's eyes began to gleam. "You're very good."

"Thank you."

"Can you guess how I died?"

"By poison, I believe." The mortician's son was quite certain of his diagnosis. There were no other marks on the body that indicated foul play. "A suicide, perhaps?"

That earned him a little laugh. "You_ are_ good," Aqua said.

Sora smiled, deciding that he should not question the suicide further. "You are also very lucky. You've been stored in a dry place. Else ways, the mold and the bugs would have eaten you. May I ask how you got there?"

"I don't know… All I remember is killing myself. The next thing I knew, you were lifting me out of that wall. I thank you for that. It makes me frightened, being in that darkness for such a long time all by myself."

"It's no problem." The mortician's son leaned closer, examining her remains.

'Perhaps she's a ghost bound to her physical body?' he thought. 'Curiouser and curiouser.'

"So you… talk to ghosts a lot?" Aqua asked.

"Yes, there's one that visits my house occasionally."

"Do the children still linger here?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I haven't seen any children at all. Unless you count Ventus," the brunette scowled and crossed his arms as he thought of the blonde ghost's most recent prank. "He certainly behaves like a child."

The corpse laughed a ringing, bell-like laugh. "He sounds like a fun person."

"Sometimes. The other night I woke up and caught him trying to dip my fingernails into water…"

"The kids used to do that to me all the time!" Aqua laughed again. "And no one would believe me when I told them ghost children were teasing me!"

"That's terribly unfortunate," Sora said, making a sour face. "My dad has the sight, also. So it's easier on me."

"You're lucky. My parents were starting to think I had regressed or something! It was so embarrassing. And don't get me started on how it was back when I was in grade school…"

The brunette grimaced, remembering an incident in pre-kinder when he tried to explain that it was a ghost who had stolen all the chocolate pudding and put it in his lunch box and the entire room looked at him like he was crazy. He remembered those pointed looks and the whispers behind his back that hurt before he realized that those sorts of things would harmed him only if he allowed them to. The mortician's son glanced at Aqua. Yes, she understood.

* * *

Riku rang the doorbell and waited. He tapped the tip of his toe absentmindedly on the ground.

Leon answered the door. Today he was dressed normally; no blood, dead animals or body parts were on his person as far as the silver-haired teen could see.

"Good afternoon, Riku!" the mortician said. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Hi, Leon. I was wondering, where is Sora?"

"Sora? Hmmmm…" Leon tilted his head to the side. "Haven't seen him all day," he said finally.

"Do you think something… happened to him?" Riku asked anxiously.

"Oh, no, I'm quite sure he's fine," the tall brunette said, waving off the dread. "Let's see… Last I heard, he told me he was visiting the old mansion. Why don't you try there, Riku?"

"Great! Thanks, Leon!" Riku turned heel and headed to the indicated building.

It took him less than fifteen minutes to jog his way to the mansion. Passing over the decrepit wall easily, Riku made his way to the front door and opened it.

"Sora?" he called. "Sora, are you here?"

Silence rang in the house for several seconds and Sora clambered out of the hole in the floorboards he had made long ago.

"Riku? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Looking for you," the silver-haired teen answered. "You missed school today."

"Did I?" the brunette glanced at his watch and recognized the late hour. "Oh, I guess I did."

"Did something happen?" Riku asked.

"Ah, no. I became too absorbed in thought and time got away from me," Sora said. "Ah, that's right, Riku, we have our usual study hour. Forgive me, I'll gather my things now."

He disappeared the hole he had made in the floor months ago and easily navigated his way back to Aqua.

"I have to go," the brunette whispered to her.

"Who is that?" The corpse asked.

"It's Riku. He's my…" Sora blushed a bit, "boyfriend."

If the corpse was surprised, she didn't let it show. Not that she _could_ show facial expressions.

"Do you want to meet him?" The mortician's son said tentatively.

"No!" Aqua said so suddenly Sora jumped.

"Does… the nature of our relationship bother you?"

"No, it's just that…. I only want to talk to you, Sora," the corpse said. "You're the only one like me I've ever met."

Understanding, Sora nodded.

"Will you come back?" she asked. "I'm so lonely here. I don't like being in the dark alone. Sora, must you leave?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Please, don't leave…" There was a pitiful ring in her plead that almost made Sora turn back and stay with her.

"I'll return later tonight, Aqua," the mortician's son said. "I promise."

"Sora?" Riku called from above. "Are you talking with someone?"

"No, Riku," Sora shouted back to him. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I'll be up soon." The brunette turned to the corpse once more and bid her a quick good-bye.

* * *

"Does he know?" Aqua asked when Sora returned that night. "About how you can talk to ghosts?"

"Oh, he has his suspicions," the brunette said with a hint of amusement as he bit into the head of a sour gummi worm. "I'm certain he's aware that I've deeply involved in the supernatural, but he doesn't know the whole truth. I try to keep Riku out of the paranormal world as much as I can. Its part of the reason I fell in love with him. He's…" Sora thought for a moment. "…radiant. The things that linger in our world shouldn't touch him. Not more than necessary." The mortician's son had to admit, he did enjoy teasing his boyfriend a bit too much.

"'Our world,' you say," the corpse said. "Just what is our world, Sora?"

"Enchantment," the mortician's son replied with a warm smile. "Fantastic, dark and exhilarating. I thrive in it, lived within it since I was an infant, but since I've met Riku I've… wanted to be part of the world he lives in, too. It's nice."

"He must be very important to you."

"Yes, he is."

Aqua let out a knowing hum. "I used to have someone like that," she said quietly.

Sora tilted his head to one side. "Do tell," he encouraged.

Aqua paused. "He was a normal human. He was an upperclassman, but we took the same bus home together, and as the year wore on we found out we had feelings for each other. I'm afraid we were never as close as you and your Riku are."

"That's a shame," the brunette said. "What happened to him?"

"He didn't want to stay." There was a pause, and before Sora could ask more, Aqua spoke up. "Can you tell me more about him? Your Riku?"

"Ah, of course," Sora said. He started with Riku, but then he ended up speaking of everyone else as well; Zexion, Axel, Demyx, Roxas, Tidus, Wakka. He spoke of their adventures and their recent Spring Break vacation. Aqua listened intently, laughing and commenting.

* * *

"A talking corpse, you say?" Leon said during breakfast. "I've never encountered one before. How very interesting!"

"It is, Dad," Sora said, nodding. "I've heard of ghosts attaching themselves to objects, but never their own bodies. I speculate that she might have been trapped there this entire time. Like she was sleeping. Why or how that managed to happen, I cannot say."

The brunette yawned. He had ended up spending the entire night at the mansion talking with Aqua. Though her rotting flesh was frozen, he could tell that she was upset that he was leaving her in the mansion by herself again. She had argued more this time as he got up to go home, beckoning him to tell her more about himself or anything in general. The brunette wondered if perhaps he should stop by the mansion before school.

"What's her name?"

"Aqua."

"Aqua?" The mortician placed a finger to his chin tentatively. "Did she commit suicide?"

"Yes, she mentioned she did."

"Perhaps that's why. Your friend was so full of negative emotions that she never moved on."

"Should we notify the local reaper?"

"No, let's not tell Donald just yet. He's been busy as of late. And you know him, he has a temper. He'll probably forcibly remove Aqua from the physical plane, which sounds rather drastic."

"What should we do, Dad?"

"Presently, I think we need an expert's opinion…" Leon glanced up. "Ventus? Are you around?"

A blonde, petite ghost phased into their dining room. "Hel-lo!" he singsonged happily, hand to his temple in mock salute. "I heard your conversation upstairs. What was that girl's name again?" Ventus asked as he drifted above Sora. Ventus, who bore a striking resemblance to Roxas, was a whimsical ghost who frequented the Leonhart manor as he wandered between their world and the beyond. As it turned out, he had been the one morphing Sora's chocolates on Valentine's Day. He also had an excellent memory. The ghost was a walking encyclopedia of the supernatural, and a sort of chronicle-keeper for all things that happened in the Leonhart's house.

"Aqua," Sora answered.

"And how old did you say her body was?" Ventus asked.

"About fifty."

The ghost let out a thoughtful hum as he placed his left foot over his right knee and sat on thin air. He placed his finger to his chin. "I've heard of ghosts lying dormant for a while. So that's not totally unusual. As for the corpse-thing, the only things I know that possess dead bodies are ghouls and other ugly things like that," he shrugged. "But I suppose if we can attach ourselves to things as nonsensical as hairpins, there's no reason why we can't do so to our own decaying bodies. Now about your girl, Aqua… I'd once heard of a girl who would play with ghosts by that name. That just might be her." Ventus rocked back and forth in place contently. Then he tipped backwards, falling into the table. Moments later, Ventus popped his head through Sora's dish.

"So, Sora…" he said, slyly, "…I heard you've got yourself a boyfriend, now."

"That's none of your business, Ven," the petite brunette said stoutly, bringing his knife and fork through the ghost's head to cut up his food.

"Pss-shaw…" Ventus countered dismissively. "Come on, Sora, I was practically your nanny while you were in diapers! Spill!"

"No." If the ghost were a book, he'd be an open book with black, bold, 42 sized font projecting all information he had shamelessly, including all the dirt he had on anyone. Sora did not want every ghost and demon knowing about his love life.

"So how far have you guys gotten?"

"Dad!" Sora looked to his father for help. Leon glanced at the ghost.

"Ventus, Sora is allowed to keep his personal relationships to himself," the mortician said, though the petite brunette caught a hint of bitterness in his tone.

The blonde frowned and slipped away from the table. "You guys are no fun."

* * *

It was about 4:30 in the afternoon when Aqua heard the familiar sound of Sora shuffling through the darkness.

"Good afternoon, Sora," she greeted.

"Good afternoon, Aqua," Sora said. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Fine," the brunette said.

Sora began with talking about his day, and then they started chattering aimlessly about witchcraft, poorly executed suicides, movies, and Sunset Hill.

"Actually Aqua," the mortician's son said suddenly. "There's something I wish to discuss with you tonight."

The corpse looked confused, her intuition telling her that the topic was going to turn serious. "What is it?"

"It's about the matter of allowing you to continue to linger here."

Aqua fell silent fear prickling in her decaying chest cavity.

Sora gazed down at her, guilt-ridden. "It's not that I want you to go," he said quickly. "But Aqua, if you stay in the living world too long, unable to move on, there's a strong possibility that you can become less human. It's…" The brunette paused, the topic was heavy on his heart as well. "It's not a fate I want for you."

The corpse said nothing.

Sora felt his throat tighten nervously. Deep down inside, he really didn't want Aqua to leave. It was nice to finally have someone other than his father who really understood what it meant to grow up with the supernatural. Riku could be sympathetic, but he could never really, truly know. Zexion, being Wiccan, provided some comfort, but he confessed to Sora that he only had enough spiritual power to sense when a ghost was near and he had never held a conversation with one before.

"Aqua?" The brunette called again.

Silence.

Anxiously, Sora leaned over, peering into her empty, decomposing sockets with concern. "Aqua? Are you there?" he asked.

"I don't want to go," Aqua said finally. "Sora, please. I don't want to be alone again. Don't leave me."

"Aqua, I'm not leaving you—"

"You're asking me to be alone again, it's the same thing. He left me too, Sora. Don't be like him. Don't leave me." She was speaking fast, desperately.

"He? Your boyfriend?"

"He was going away. He was going away to college even though I loved him. I told him I would kill myself if he left, and he did anyway. Sora, you can't leave me, too!" Her voice was shaking now. "I've been so alone. Sora, you understand me, don't you? Don't go. I don't want to be alone. Sora, please…"

"Aqua—"

Suddenly the sound of webbed feet stepping on ancient wood broke the stillness, and a duck dressed in a black coat hopped down the hole in the floorboards.

"Of course!" it said with vexation once its eyes adjusted to the darkness and found Sora. "Why is it that _every time_ something abnormal's going on, _you'd_ be right next to it?" It pointed something at the brunette, a funny-looking wand with a witch's hat on top.

"Good evening, Donald," Sora said respectfully.

"Sora, who is that?" Aqua asked, sounding very frightened.

Donald leaped into the air with a surprised quack. "So! It really _does_ talk!" He said.

"She," the brunette corrected as the duck waddled over to them. Sora turned to the corpse. "Aqua, this is Donald, he's the local reaper."

"Good evening, Miss Aqua," Donald said, bowing slightly.

"Is he going to take me away?" Aqua asked. "Sora, don't let him! Please!"

"I'm sorry, Aqua. I can't—" Sora began.

"I'm here to send you to the spirit world," the duck interrupted him, ignoring her obvious distress. Donald had dealt with too many souls who weren't ready to depart to to know that sometimes being firm, instead of showing sympathy, was the proper course of action. "I don't mean to be pushy, but if you two want to say your good-byes, I suggest you be quick about it. Some nutcase downtown just poisoned the punch bowel at his party and I need to be there." He tapped his wand over his shoulder impatiently. "Honestly, it's always the quiet ones!"

The mortician's son frowned. The hasty farewell wasn't what Sora imagined, especially with Aqua still so distressed. "Wait, could you give us a moment, Donald? Please?"

Donald shot him a crossed look.

"As a favor? You at least owe me a couple minutes after you overlooked the obvious haunting in the Yorushi Villa."

The duck narrowed his eyes and Sora knew he was pushing the line hard. "Two minutes," Donald said gruffly.

"Sora," Aqua pleaded.

"There's no arguing at this point, Aqua," Sora said as firmly and gently as he could. "I know it's scary and you're frightened of being alone, but the point of the matter is that you can't stay here. I've seen what happens to spirits—spirits with dark pasts like yours that end in suicide. Ghosts have to move on. If they don't, they stop becoming human after a while and that's not something I want to happen to you."

"But it doesn't always—"

"Yes, it does. I've seen it too many times." He gave her a hard glance, hoping that she would no longer disagree.

Aqua did not reply immediately. What she was thinking of, Sora couldn't know. He didn't even have facial expressions to help him. "Then…" she said finally, "just let me say that… Sora, Riku is important to you, yes?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then I sincerely hope… that Riku doesn't favor his ambition over you, as my boyfriend did."

Sora's eyes widened. "Aqua, what are you saying?" he asked. "Riku isn't like—"

"The first death at the party just occurred," Donald said. He raised his wand. "Sorry Sora, I can't wait anymore."

* * *

"Ah, so you helped her move on, Sora?" Leon asked when his son came home and retold his story.

"Yes, Dad," Sora nodded from the couch. "I felt it was best."

The mortician settled into the couch next to his son. "You seemed to have made a very deep attachment to her in your short time together."

Sora bobbed his head again.

"Did you ever find out how she ended up in the wall?"

"I did," the petite brunette replied. "I noticed that that there were nails that appeared to have been pulled out and replanted."

Leon blinked. "Someone had placed her there," he said. "Given the statistics, the strength needed to pry out the nails and boards and the skill to piece them together, it's exceedingly possible that…"

"Her boyfriend did it," Sora finished. "To hide her body and his crime."

Leon placed a soothing hand on his son's shoulder. "Shall we bury her remains in a proper grave? Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes, I would like that," Sora replied.

"Want to track down Aqua's boyfriend and torment him?"

A dark, thin smile crept along the mortician's son's face. "That would be lovely," he answered.

"Well," Leon stretched and stood up. "It's time you get to bed, Sora. My goodness, it's just about four o' clock. We'll get started on Aqua's burial when you wake up."

Sora sighed deeply. "I suppose," he said somberly.

"Good morning, Dad," the petite brunette said, as opposed to 'good night.'

Leon gave a smile. "Good morning, Sora."

The petite brunette trudged up to his room, suddenly feeling how exhausted he was. He changed into his pajamas quickly and flopped into his coffin. Just before he drifted off to sleep, he could hear Aqua's words echo softly in his mind:

_"Then I sincerely hope… that Riku doesn't favor his ambition over you, as my boyfriend did."_

* * *

It was around three o' clock in the morning when Vanitas let his head rest on the arm of the sofa comfortably. He stared blankly at the ceiling because everything was just _so fucking _fantastic_. _Especially the way the walls just seemed to be made of… of these awesome rainbows. The ebony-haired male giggled, his tummy tickling.

And somewhere between then and now a giraffe version of Leon—recognizable only because the giraffe had the mortician's hairdo—appeared in this swirl of psychedelic tie-dye; he seemed to speaking. That was odd. Vanitas hardly ever had visions of Leon when he was tripping. Usually it was half-naked, sexy, dancing Asians.

"Totally uncool…" the ebony-haired teen muttered.

Suddenly a sharp pain shot up his left hand.

"OW!" Vanitas cried, jerking upright.

The colors were still whirling but Giraffe-Leon wasn't a giraffe anymore. It was just normal boring Leon, and he had jabbed the tip of a pen into Vanitas' hand.

"What are you doing here?" the brunette asked.

The ebony-haired teen blinked several times and rubbed his eye halfheartedly.

"I'm not a hallucination," Leon said. "Now what are you doing here, Vanitas?"

"'Cause the cat people told me to come," Vanitas grinned dumbly.

Deciding to speed up the conversation, the mortician gripped two of the other's fingers and bent them backwards painfully.

"Owowow_ow!_" the ebony-haired teen twisted in pain, his eyes screwed shut. When they opened again there seemed to be a bit more clarity. "Goddamit, Leon, that was totally uncalled for!" Vanitas hissed as he snatched his hand away and nursed his throbbing fingers. " And what the hell are you doing here, anyway?"

"I was asking you the same thing," Leon replied.

"What? I can't check up on my cute baby half-brother?" Vanitas asked, shaking his aching hand. "He's gotten so very big now. And he's got a really cute boyfriend. I'm jealous." He grinned.

"Badlands is a long way from Twilight Town. You wouldn't have bothered to come unless you had a very good reason," the mortician said, with a cold glare. "Stay away from Sora, I have only let you linger this long because of your relation to him. However, if you make one false move I will not hesitate to annihilate you."

"Leon, can you please use shorter sentences? I'm—" he giggled as he shook his head, "—I'm not following at all."

"_Stay away from Sora or I will kill you_. Do you understand?" Leon annunciated everything perfectly, his eyes deadly.

"Right. Rightrightrightright_right_…" Vanitas punctuated the last word with an emphasized 'tah' sound. He turned his head to the brunette as he left the upper half his body slide off the couch and onto the floor. "Soooo… I noticed you didn't tell him about me."

"Sora didn't need to know he had a half-brother who was a drug addict. It would have devastated him," the brunette answered.

"I resent that statement. He actually really likes me," Vanitas lips pulled into a triumphant grin. "He thinks my monkey paw is cool."

The mortician's eyes flashed with anger. "I can't believe you're posing as a student in his school," he muttered. "How old are you now, Vanitas? Twenty-five?"

"I'm twenty-three, thank you very much!" the ebony-haired teen looked appalled. "And forging proper documents is child's play for me, you know that. I'm quite intelligent. …Once I put my mind to it."

"Which is seldom."

"Yup." Vanitas lifted a finger in agreement. "Now if you'll excuse me, Leon. I'm going to Candy Mountain." He pulled out a medication bottle from his pants and popped it open, humming to himself. Leon came forward and snatched the bottle right out of his hands.

"Hey!" the twenty-three-year old protested.

"You are not taking drugs," the mortician said firmly. "At least not in my presence."

"Oh, for the love of God, Leon, have mercy!" Vanitas swung his legs to the side and got himself upright, but Leon was already gone without a trace.

The ebony-haired man scratched his head thoughtfully. "I really have to figure out how he does that," he said to himself. "He's like Batman."

Vanitas wrenched his shoe from his right foot and emptied out a small pill box into his hands.

* * *

**[1] "…Knock on the Wall…" From the movie, _El Orfanato. _A game for multiple players. You have one kid face a wall while the other kids are, like, fifteen feet from him. Wall-kid knocks the wall three times saying, "Uno, dos, tres, toca la pared," ("One, two, three, knock on the wall") and then turns around. As the kid says this, the other children try their best to come closer before wall-kid turns around. If wall-kid sees the other players continue to move when he turns, they're out. If one of the players managed to make it to the wall-kid, they touch his back and everyone runs while the wall-kid chases after them. Whoever the wall-kid manages to catch will be the next person to say the lines. We play this game here in the U.S., but we say something different and we don't knock on the wall. I don't remember what we say and I only remembered the Spanish version, so I put the Spanish version instead. It's cooler anyway. :P (And _El Orfanato _is an awesome movie.) The Japanese also have their own version of this game, coincidentally (well, I saw it on the Ouran High School Host Club anime) and they say "The Daruma Doll Fell" or something like that.)**

**Vanitas is Sora's half-brother! Oh, the drama! Um, I named the city Vanitas comes from Badlands, which was the first name of the Keyblade Graveyard in _Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. _Keyblade Graveyard sounded more like... well, more like a graveyard than a place. Plus I think Badlands is an awesome name for a city. Yeah, I know. I'm weird. :/  
**

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Once again, I've started to dive into the dramatics, my catastrophic weakpoint, so I am very nervous. I hope you all got that Aqua's isn't exactly a good friend. She's a bit of a conniving bitch born from betrayal and a lonely childhood. She utilizes pity to get what she wants and sort of tries to turn the conversation against Sora when he does things she doesn't want him to do, like leave her. Her parting words weren't so much a concerned warning than it is a poisonous extension of paranoia.  
**

**—Anyway, see you all next chapter! I eat reviews. Feed me or I will die! (Okay, no I won't. That was just a sad ploy to get reviews. Hahaha.)**

**_|Corrosive Moon|_**


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts. **

**Head's up, you guys. This isn't beta'd. Yes, I did realize I got Vanitas' age mixed up. I fixed it now.**

* * *

_Chapter 13: The Great Game__**[1]**_

The graveyard in the dark had always been Sora's favorite place to think (his coffin came in a close second, though.) The serene, ghastly, paranormal atmosphere always had a way of clearing his head. But tonight the deathly calm of the graveyard did not settle him.

_"Then I sincerely hope… that Riku doesn't favor his ambition over you, as my boyfriend did."_

No matter what he did, Aqua's words continued to resonate in his head. Over and over, it didn't matter what sort of rationalization Sora concocted to keep the haunting sentence at bay, his natural cynical mentality could not help but draw similarities and conclusions. They were both familiar with the paranormal, they both spent most of their lives alone and had someone precious who was going away… Would he end up like her? Loveless and forgotten in the darkness?

Sora drew his legs up on the headstone he was sitting on and rubbed his eye. He hadn't been getting enough sleep due to his recently-formed anxious feelings. The brunette sighed as he dropped his head onto his knees.

Neverland University. That was where Riku was going. It was practically _worlds_ away from Twilight Town. It seemed so trivial when Riku happily announced his acceptance some unimportant day in early December. But that was before February, before they realized they had feelings for each other, before the thought of Riku leaving made Sora feel sick to his stomach. Now the poisonous thoughts were starting to form—"what about me?" "What about us?"—ebbing and ebbing away at him and it took all of the brunette's strength not to shout in utter frustration.

Of course, Sora wouldn't openly object to Riku going far, far away. NU was the university of the silver-haired teen's dreams. Who was Sora to get in the way? He loved Riku, wanted him to be happy even if Sora had to live with a gut-twisting uneasiness. But would Riku return that same sacrifice, courage and faith despite such a long distance? Even normal relationships were strained by distances and Sora was quite certain that he, Riku _and_ their families were far from normal. God knows what was going to happen to them.

The brunette knew that he had to talk to Riku about this eventually, but with finals week coming up, Riku was left with little free time. The silver-haired teen even begrudgingly asked to stop their usual tutoring hour in favor of studying for his finals. Riku needed top grades to ensure his high GPA and secure a full-ride scholarship to NU. Sora didn't want to distract him.

* * *

Something was bothering Sora, Riku could tell. But whenever he asked the brunette about it, he firmly denied anything. Knowing Sora's unhealthy habit of pushing things onto himself, Riku came to the conclusion that he should do his best to find out what was distressing the brunette, despite what Sora said. However, Riku barely had time to speak to Sora amidst preparing for his harsh finals (his teachers were certainly going all-out this year) and other distractions.

"Crap…" Tidus muttered as he drew three cards from the deck. "I fold."

Twilight Town High School Administration forbade the students from playing poker _only_ if the students were using cash, which was why the group was playing poker with potato chips instead. They knew they should have been studying for their approaching exams, but once Demyx insisted Vanitas teach him how to play poker, the topic became infectious. Zexion and Sora were the only two who decided not to participate. Sora watched with interest while Zexion peered over his book once in a while, reminding Demyx of the different hands.

It was Riku who held most of the chips, and he was smirking widely behind his five cards. Axel, holding the second-most chips, knitted his brows together and mulled over his luck.

"I fold," the redhead said with a heavy sigh and began to eat his winnings.

Vanitas, who had the third-best luck of the group, gathered his cards together and tapped the table thoughtfully. "I suggest we bet something else," he said. "To make things more interesting."

"We can't use real money, Vanitas," Roxas said, discarding one card and picking up another. "We'll get in trouble." He scowled at his hand and then placed his cards down. "I give up," he muttered.

The ebony-haired man rolled his eyes. "Okay fine, not money. But something equally interesting." He glanced at Riku, Wakka, and Demyx, the only players left. "Well? What do you guys think?"

The three teens looked to each other, silently deliberating.

"I'm backin' down, ya," Wakka said, not in the mood to bet anything.

"Same here," Demyx said, giving a sigh of defeat.

Vanitas then looked to Riku. "What about you, Riku?" He asked.

The silver-haired teen considered for a moment. Then he turned to Vanitas. "If I win, you have to give me that nifty robot you made for physics class. The one that spits out pills."

That made the occupants of the table—minus Vanitas—look at him with disapproving expressions.

"I'm going to make it spit out M&Ms instead!" Riku said in his defense.

"Fine!" Vanitas said. He leaned over boldly and smirked. "And if I win, I get a kiss from Sora!"

The focus of the table shifted to the ebony-haired man in an instant. Sora glanced at Riku, his cheeks tinting red.

"Leave Sora out of this," Riku narrowed his eyes. Everyone watched them anxiously, their gazes shifting from the eighteen-year-old to Vanitas.

The ebony-haired man held that smirk in an infuriatingly unbearable way. "You gonna back down?"

Riku was determined to be the adult in this situation. And anyway, if Vanitas was so eager to bait him into risking Sora's kiss then he had to have winning cards.

"Yes," Riku placed his hand down, which contained a two pair of aces and jacks.

Vanitas slowly set his lips into a frown and fanned his cards out. No one saw that the only worthy cards he had were a pair of twos.

* * *

It was the first time Riku felt exceedingly suspicious of Vanitas' relations to Sora. The two had gotten closer during the course of the month, one would even consider them best friends. So, Vanitas transfers here one day, immediately attaches himself to Sora, and just so happens to fit into the brunette's world oh-so-perfectly? What exactly were the chances of _that_?

Jealousy and paranoia were unfamiliar to Riku. It was a strange, uncomfortable mix of emotions. And Sora… Sora was hiding something. Given Vanitas' behavior during poker and the silver-haired teen's new circulating negative thoughts, he found himself making a connection between them.

After Riku trudged home, avoided a spear aiming for his spleen, leaped over the trip wire, hopped over the trap hole in front of his door, and finally entered his house, he was greeted by his father, who thankfully wasn't there to charge at him with a weapon.

"You should feel disgraced, Riku," Sephiroth said. He was leaning against the wall on his son's left. "If you couldn't even secure your lover's lips, how are you to win a match when his entire being is at stake?"

Scowling, the silver-haired teen slipped off his shoes and stalked passed Sephiroth. He was not in the mood to receive romantic advice from his father.

"I didn't lose, Chichi-ue, I—" Riku began but was cut off by Sephiroth.

"You were too spineless to fight back. Yes, I know," he said, clearly annoyed.

His pride bruised, Riku felt an insult rise up in his throat, but he bit it back and fell into a compliant quiet that had resulted from his teacher-student relationship with his father.

"It may have slipped my mind, but I could have sworn that I had trained you to win," the silver-haired man continued.

Riku could have scoffed. Sephiroth was way too competitive. "It was only a card game, Chichi-ue. And Vanitas was only joking."

"And if he wasn't?"

The eighteen-year-old paused and his chest became tight. But he turned to his father, eyes flashing dangerously. "I would protect Sora."

Sephiroth's lips curled into a barely detectable smile. He had never seen his son this aggressive. "Your initiative is refreshing, but I highly doubt you would've been able to stop him had he been serious. Vanitas Cole is an extremely skilled player. I can't find any information on him."

His father's connections had finally failed him? Riku's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?"

The silver-haired man nodded, "Actually, it would be more accurate to say I found _too much _of him. There's evidence of a Vanitas Cole in every city. There's a Vanitas Cole as a high school student in Traverse Town, a Vanitas Cole living in Halloweentown, a Vanitas Cole who's a graphic animator in Wonderland Studios; same face, same name, but different lifestyle with no correlation whatsoever. Wherever he's really from, and who he really is, he doesn't want us to know."

After hearing that, the situation between Sora and Vanitas had now grown painfully shifty. Riku tried to work up the nerve to talk to Sora. In between bullying his brain to remember his ridiculously complex math formulas and cursing his abominable calculus teacher who denied them the use of calculation sheets, the silver-haired teen was trying to think of a way to bring the topic. Riku knew that an aggressive interrogation would not be beneficial at all. At last, after an infuriating half-hour of pondering proper articulation, the eighteen-year-old gave up and decided that the best course of action would be a simple, straight-forward question said in a neutral-like tone.

* * *

Unfortunately, Riku was unable to approach Sora about his thoughts at all the next school day. The students of Twilight Town High School entered that morning to find that the cafeteria and the first floor hallways had been turned into a gruesome blood bath. Mutilated cat bodies littered the floor. Several of the felines had been sawed completely in half while others were dismembered. Blood was splattered on the ceiling, spilled all over the floor, painted across the walls in horrific magic circles—it was everywhere. Everywhere except… locker number 1024, which belonged to Sora Leonhart.

"I didn't do it," Sora said once he was seized by the Vice-Principal and brought into the principal's office. He didn't care that it sounded dubious. It was true.

Principal Ansem Chie swallowed his fear and ignored the flickering light in his office. True, he was so scared of the petite brunette he had could hear his terrified heart racing in his ears, but the blonde man refused to allow someone to be above the rules of his school.

"Then why was _your_ locker untouched, Mr. Leonhart?" Xemnas Tanner, the Vice-Principal, barked.

"I have no idea. Perhaps you should ask the perpetrator." Sora said as he yawned.

Xemnas—bless his malicious soul—had an eye for detail and a personal vendetta against the brunette since his Porsche had mysteriously exploded without a viable cause so many months ago. The Vice-Principal knew that anything out of the ordinary in the school was undoubtedly related to Sora. Yes, normally they would turn a blind eye to it out of terror, but this time… This time the dark-skinned man was sure that he had enough grounds to put the brunette out of his life. Or at the very least out of his school.

"Late night, Mr. Leonhart?" Xemnas asked.

"Yes, I've been having trouble sleeping lately," Sora replied.

"Of course. And perhaps while trying to lull yourself back to sleep you decided to take a short walk to the school and desecrate it," he ensued.

"Xemnas," Ansem warned, feeling that the man was jumping to conclusions.

Fully integrating himself into the "bad cop" routine, Xemnas circled the brunette's chair. "Where were you last night, Mr. Leonhart?"

"I was at the graveyard. Thinking."

"Is there anyone you can name who can vouch for you?"

'No one alive,' Sora thought, bitterly. "No, sir. Is there anyone who can vouch that you've been watching too many _Law & Order _reruns?" The mortician's son regretted the snarky statement the moment it left his mouth. He was truly digging his grave now. His sleepless nights were clearly cutting into his etiquette.

The Vice-Principal's eyes lit up malevolently, and his lips thinned.

"I don't understand why I'm still being kept here. What evidence do you have against me aside from the fact that my locker is clean?" Sora asked.

"Don't play innocent with me, _boy_. Who else could have done it? The magic circles? The cat corpses? I've heard from Vexen that he's been suspecting you of taking the cats from his freezer. Not to mention the numerous complaints from your classmates regarding your behavior."

"It seems to me, _sir_, that all you have is speculation." Sora rose from his seat. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get to class." The brunette left.

The silver-haired man's mouth twitched irritably. He was certain that their culprit was Sora, but he had no evidence. The little twerp had even ripped the digital footage from the security cameras. But Xemnas was certain there had to be _something_.

Ansem placed a hand to his chin thoughtfully. Even though Sora was known to perform witchcraft on campus and his record was implicating, he had a feeling that this wasn't the teen's doing.

* * *

It seemed that the entire school was certain that the incident was Sora's fault. The students and teachers watched him with dark, hateful eyes and they murmured more than usual when he passed by.

"…that freak over there…"

"I'm positive he did it. He's the only one nutty enough to…"

"That's just _sick._"

"…but why haven't they done anything?"

"Psycho."

"They're probably too scared shitless of him. Maybe they're gonna call in the white jackets."

Sora was no stranger to hostility or nasty insinuations. He did find them irksome, but people talked, just like they'd always done. At any rate, the other students were still too frightened to really do anything about it and Sora went about his day as he usually did. Aside from the slander of his comparatively good name, the brunette saw no real reason to investigate the matter himself. There was no real link to himself and the crime apart from the obvious subject of witchcraft. Though, Sora wondered who would go through all this trouble to try and frame him.

"Sora!" Riku called to him. He went up to him and grasped his arm with a worried expression. "I heard you got called to the principal's office. Are you all right?"

"Are you all right," not "did you do it?"It was unfathomably refreshing to hear someone address him in a guiltless way. "Yes, I'm fine," he replied.

"Did they do anything to you?"

The brunette shook his head. "They can't do anything. They have no evidence against me."

"Don't worry," the eighteen-year-old said. "I'm sure they'll catch whoever really did this." Riku spied two sophomore girls glaring at Sora from a distance and shot them a withering look in return. They scampered away immediately.

"You don't think I did it?" Sora felt a surge of relief and love.

"Of course not," Riku said resolutely. "None of us do." The tardy bell rang. The silver-haired teen threw it an annoyed glance at it and turned to Sora once more. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

"I've been snooping around the school all day," Tidus said with a sigh during lunch. "I haven't found anything that can help."

"Same here. Got nothing," Wakka said. "Whoever did this is good, ya?"

"Don't worry, Sora," Axel said, patting the brunette's back good-naturedly.

"Yeah, we're not giving up," Roxas added.

"And when we find this guy we'll kick his ass, too!" Vanitas said.

"You bet! We'll be like… like the super-cool detectives from the TVs and stuff!" Demyx declared.

"Demyx, don't be ludicrous," Zexion said. He turned to Sora. "Do you have any idea why anyone would try to hurt you, Sora?"

Sora lips formed a twisted, dark smile. "I can think of many students who intensely dislike me, Zexion. The person responsible isn't familiar with Wicca and witchcraft, though. I can tell you that much. All these circles are from a multitude of random subjects; dark magic, summoning, astrology, healing. The culprit more than likely chose them due to their menacing appearance."

"So we're looking for a non-magic student who's got major beef with Sora," Axel thought out loud. He exhaled sharply. "That's a lot of people."

"We can narrow it down," Zexion said. "Sora, has there been anyone you've angered recently?"

Sora shook his head.

"What about Seifer?" Roxas put forward.

"Nah, whoever did this has talent," the mortician's son said, glancing up at an admirably done circle painted on the ceiling above them. "Exceptional talent."

"Sora, don't praise them," Riku said, frowning. "They're trying to expel you from school or worse."

"What about Kairi?" Demyx suggested, glancing at Sora. "You locked her in a vending machine before."

"You locked someone in a vending machine?" Vanitas asked the brunette, grinning. "Epic!"

"She's definitely someone who wouldn't let something like that go over easy," Tidus said. As a blitzball player, he had certainly heard a couple things about Kairi, who incidentally was also the head cheerleader. "But that was in the beginning of the school year. If she'd wanted revenge she would've done it sooner, right?"

"Women are scary, patient creatures, Tidus," Axel stated. "Don't underestimate them."

"Yuna's friends with Rikku, who's friends with Selphie, who's friends with Kairi," Tidus said. "I could ask her if Kairi's done anything shady. It's a start."

The feeling of having his friends' support was so indescribable Sora could barely murmur several words of gratitude. But the feeling only lasted until Vexen Duffield approached their table and escorted Sora to the principal's office.

* * *

Sora entered the office and found a bloody paint can and a rag resting on several open newspapers on Ansem's desk. The Principal looked very grim as he set his eyes on Sora. Xemnas looked smug.

"We found it in the trash by the P.E. lockers," Ansem said.

Vexen pulled on a pair of gloves, lifted up the rag and unfolded it. It wasn't just a scrap of cloth, Sora realized, it was a shirt. More specifically, it was his P.E. shirt. His name, which had been scrawled on the tag in Sharpie, was barely visible through the blood stains.

"Is this yours?" Vexen asked, his face serious.

"Yes," Sora replied, keeping himself calm.

Behind him, with their ears pressed to the door, Riku and Vanitas gaped at each other.

"But I still stand with what I've said before," the brunette went on. "I didn't do it,"

"You're lying," Xemnas said viciously. "You broke into the school with a multitude of mutilated cats, splashed their blood everywhere and wrote those horrid symbols with your shirt." He pointed to the evidence. "That right there is proof."

"But why would I go through the trouble of breaking into my own locker to use my shirt?" Sora asked.

"Because it was one of the only combinations you knew!" Xemnas insinuated.

"You misunderstand me, sir. If I _was_ the perpetrator why not just take a shirt from my house?"

"Because you were too busy gathering your sacrifices to remember to bring something to paint with."

"Then why not use the shirt I wore then? It would certainly be easier."

Xemnas paused, just for a moment. "Don't ask me to try to interpret the mind of a psychopath," he retorted.

Sora narrowed his eyes, but he said nothing in his defense.

Outside the office, Vanitas grabbed hold of Riku's blazer to stop him from bursting into the room.

"Riku, you can't help him like this!" Vanitas hissed in his ear.

"Let me go, Vanitas!" The silver-haired teen growled back. How dare Xemnas address Sora like that! How dare he!

"That's enough, Xemnas," Ansem said, standing from his chair. "Criminal or no criminal, I will not have you badger my students." The principal turned to Sora. "Sora, I'm afraid the evidence speaks for itself. Your father will be phoned and you will be suspended until the end of the semester. With the magnitude of your offense, I'm afraid I cannot allow you any make-up finals."

Suddenly the door opened and Riku rushed in. "I did it!" he said. "I wrote the witch-symbols on the walls, I hunted down the cats and killed them and strewn them all over the school. It was me."

All eyes were trained on the silver-haired teen. For several seconds, everyone was speechless, and then Xemnas who spoke up first.

"Mr. Yorushi," he said. "I understand that you have a relationship with Mr. Leonhart, but that doesn't give you the right to lie for his crimes."

"No, it's true," Riku insisted.

"Then why, pray-tell, Mr. Yorushi would you open Mr. Leonhart's locker and not your own?"

The eighteen-year-old dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pill bottle. "I was high," he explained. "I go over to Sora's house all the time. He has those magic circles on his wall. I thought it would be funny to recreate them in cat's blood. Well, I thought it would be funny at the time—senior prank, y'know. I opened Sora's locker on accident, thinking it was mine, and used his shirt to write the stuff."

Meanwhile, Vanitas was searching his pockets in disbelief. 'Little thief…' he thought incredulously.

Vexen placed on a clean pair of rubber gloves, snatched the bottle from Riku's hands and examined it. "Hmmm…" He peered through the clear-orange and made out the minute inscription on the pills.

"Vicodin," he turned his gaze to Riku. "I don't know how in the world you got this, Mr. Yorushi. This is a class five drug, something the pharmacists would keep a keen watch over."

"I'm clever," the silver-haired teen said, smiling.

"Mr. Chie, Riku's wrong!" Sora blurted out, unable to take this charade any longer. "Mr. Tanner is right! I did it! I did all of it!"

Riku's head snapped to the brunette, his face implying that he should remain silent.

"Sora's lying, sir, I did it!" Riku shouted.

"Riku, be quiet!" Sora said. He turned to the principle. "I did it!"

"No, _I_ did!"

"I d—"

"Enough!" Ansem yelled, silencing them. "Since you two are so eager, I'm holding you_ both_ accountable. You are hereby suspended until the end of the semester with no possibility of make-up exams. I will be calling your parents and until they come to pick you up, you will be held in detention. Xemnas." He gestured to the silver-haired man and the two teens were led out.

Xemnas took Riku and Sora to Room 101, which was the only room that didn't have a class at the time. Xigbar Morino, the laid-back Algebra 2 teacher, looked up from his gun magazine and greeted them with a nod. Xemnas quickly explained their situation and Xigbar absentmindedly agreed to watch the two "culprits" until they were out of school grounds.

The moment Xemnas left and Xigbar became too engrossed in his reading material, Riku leaned over to Sora and spoke in a whisper.

"Sora, back down," he said. "Let me take the blame."

"No! Riku, you can't do this!" Sora whispered back.

"Am I supposed to stand back and let you take responsibility for something you didn't do?"

"Are you expecting me to do the same?" Sora hissed back viciously. "I will receive the blame. It won't be so difficult for me than it will be for you. Riku, you're going to Neverland University! Do you realize that if they implicate you for this crime it's going to ruin your acceptance, your scholarship and, quite possibly, your entire future?"

"Well, that's all right," Riku said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "Means I get to spend more time with you, right?"

Sora felt his heartrate accelerate sky-high, and his cheeks became very hot. "You would… you would really do that...?"

The silver-haired teen smiled softly and answered by taking his hand. And just like that… everything Sora was worried about—Aqua's words, the long distance, the fear and doubts—it all faded away at Riku's touch.

Sora chuckled breathlessly. "You think I'm going to let you do this on your own? If you're going down, we're going together." He looked up at him and smiled.

Riku's smile quirked into a mischievous grin. "It was both our faults, then."

"Yes. We procured illegal substances and under their influence we snuck into school and instigated a feline blood bath."

"Let's say we were playing some sort of twisted, dead kitty, blood war and ended up trying to summon Hades."

"Excellent. While we're on this delinquent rampage, we might as well say we had sex."

The silver-haired teen laughed out loud and, after sneaking a glance to check if Xigbar was still occupied, planted a kiss on his lips. It was quicker than what he wanted, and rather unsatisfying, but it would do for now. They leaned onto each other, hands together, shoulder-to-shoulder, side-by-side.

* * *

Principal Ansem Chie walked into his office to see Vanitas Cole sitting in his chair, his feet propped up on his desk.

"Afternoon, Principal!" The ebony-haired man said. "Just wanted to drop by and give you a confession. I made that whole mess on the first floor. Riku and Sora had nothing to do with it nor were they in any way related to it. And the drugs Riku carried were mine. He pick-pocketed right from under my nose."

Ansem had had enough of everyone pointing fingers at themselves. He rubbed his temple slowly. "Out of my office, Mr. Cole. I've endured far too much criminal behavior today."

"You may think I'm lying, but I'm not." Vanitas placed a USB drive on the desk. "You'll find the security camera footage on that drive, totally implicating me. You can run all the little analyses you want, it's real. So!" The ebony-haired man slipped out of the chair and sauntered out the door, speaking fast. "Go ahead and suspend me, expel me, blah, blah, blah, so on and so forth. Just thought it would be nice to warn you: I'm not really seventeen and I'm not really a former student of Atlantis High School. In fact, I've never been to Atlantis before in my life, though I've heard they have great sushi. I should really try some one day. Well! I'd love to stay and chat but I've got a thing—Oh! Right!"

The twenty-three year old whirled around, quickly picked the lock in Ansem's cabinet and extracted his pill bottle. "This is mine, you can't have any," Vanitas said, holding the thing close. "You won't be expecting me to come to class anymore! My work here is done! Ciao!" He raised his hand, waggled his fingers at the blonde man, and was out the door.

Ansem rubbed his forehead with new vigor, his head spinning. Either way, he did realize that he had to clear two certain students of their punishments. And the call couldn't have come any sooner, both Riku and Sora's fathers were ready to storm the school and unleash Hell (in Leon's case that could be taken literally.)

* * *

Vanitas extracted the misty white cloud from his pipe. His head lolled back while he suppressed the urge to cough and finally let the smoke pass his lips. It was the last bit of pot he was going to smoke before leaving town. His bags were already packed and placed next to the kitchen table. Since the twenty-three-year-old just started, he was still lucid enough to hear his doorbell ring and voluntarily ignore it.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten to lock the door. A few moments later, Sora walked in. The ebony-haired man was so surprised he sucked in the smoke too fast and coughed.

"S-Sora?" Vanitas blinked several times, careful to keep his hands close to him. He set aside the pipe and cleared his throat. "What are—ahem—what are you doing here?"

"You haven't been in school," the brunette explained. "Finals have already started."

"Yeah, the principal expelled me. Sorta." Vanitas shrugged. "Well, no worries! Education is totally overrated. Did you say finals started? Don't you have one today?"

"No, I don't have any exams today. Riku does, though. Or else he'd be here too."

The brunette pulled a chair close and sat on it. "Vanitas," he began. "That blood bath on the first floor, that was you, wasn't it?"

Initially, Vanitas thought of lying, but he knew the mortician's son was too skilled to fool. "Yeah," he responded. "How did you figure it out?"

"Intuition," Sora answered simply. "And Riku suspected you, too."

The ebony-haired man pursed his lips and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, that one. You've got yourself a real catch there, Sora." He rose from the couch, eyeing the door for a moment before stretching his arms. He threw his most innocent look on his face and looked elsewhere. "Well! Sorry to skip out while I've got company, but I've got to be somewhere—GAH!" He turned to make a break for the door but was cut off by Sora, who had appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"But we don't know why," the mortician's son continued as Vanitas placed a hand over his racing heart to calm himself.

'I've really gotta learn that Batman trick…' the ebony-haired man told himself. 'Nifty thing.'

"Vanitas, I don't think that your objective was to hurt me, so what was it?" His royal blue eyes locked onto Vanitas' amber ones. "We're friends… right?"

The ebony-haired man bit his tongue. He hadn't intended on telling Sora the truth (partially out of fear of Leon and partially out of his own principle as well) but he couldn't deny his half-brother, not while he was looking at him like that. He shuffled to a bag that hung on the chair next to the kitchen table and fished out a small, thin photo album. After flipping through several pages, Vanitas stopped and showed him a picture. Sora had to move closer to see it. It was a picture of a family of three sitting at a table. A baby with black, spiky hair and amber eyes (clearly Vanitas) in the lap a smiling blonde teenage girl with the eyes the same hue as Vanitas. Together, they were in the arms of an ebony-haired adolescent, probably about Sora's age, with bright blue eyes and wild hair.

Sora's eyes bulged. He had seen that man in only a few pictures before, but never did he look as young as he did in Vanitas' picture. That man was a scattered appearance in Leon's old albums, usually grinning next to his biological mother

Vanitas pointed to the teenage boy in the picture. "Our father," he stated.

The mortician's son glanced from Vanitas to his birth father in astonishment. "Y-you're… I'm… w-we're…" He had to stop to gather his thoughts together; to force his voice to move passed the lump in his throat.

"I have a brother?" Sora asked weakly. His knees felt like they were going to fold any minute.

"Half-brother, technically," Vanitas corrected, watching Sora carefully. The moment the brunette showed any sign of disgust or hate, he would vanish from his life forever. He didn't embark on this crazy fiasco to hurt Sora. At least, not deliberately.

The silence that fell between them was maddening. The mortician's son looked like he was about to faint. Finally, Vanitas couldn't hold his tongue anymore.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked. "I can. All you have to do is say so, Sora."

"No!" Sora shouted abruptly and grasped Vanitas' arm. "No, don't go. Just… give me a minute to… to adjust to this." He took several deep breaths to steady himself and glanced up to the ebony-haired man. "Did Dad—I mean, not _our _Dad, but my Dad, did he know?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't _you_ tell me?"

"In case you haven't noticed," Vanitas pointed to the half-done weed in the pipe, "I'm not exactly 'World's Best Brother' material."

"Why now? Why did you decide to meet me now? Why go through all of this?"

"Long story short: I've been keeping tabs on you for a long time. When I heard that you got a boyfriend, I wanted to… y'know, check up on him. See if he's good for you; beat the shit out of him if he isn't. And… I guess I've been itching to meet you face-to-face." He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Sorry for all the problems I caused. I didn't like lying to you, but I had lots of fun hanging with you, Sora."

The twenty-three-year-old glanced at Sora hopefully. Vanitas knew that there was a large chance that the brunette might hate him for all the deceit and near-expulsion from school, but at least he knew that Riku was right for Sora. He knew the brunette would be well cared for. That would be enough.

To his great relief, Sora smiled. "I enjoyed spending time with you, too, Vanitas."

The ebony-haired man grinned back. "Hate to cut this short, but, uh, I kinda sorta had to rob, like, six pet stores to get all those cats for my grand master plan so I need skip town before they catch me. It's probably also dangerous for you to be around me in case someone sees you. Sooo… yeah."

"But you'll come back, right?" There was a small, pleading note in Sora's voice that Vanitas noticed. The ebony-haired man gave a reassuring grin and threw his arms around his half-brother.

"Only if you want me to!" He said.

"Of course I do!" Sora hugged him back.

Vanitas squeezed extra hard before finally releasing him. "Oh yeah!" The ebony-haired man said suddenly. "Since Riku's not here, go tell him that I totally give him permission to bang you! Practice safe sex, got it? 'Cause you can get all kinds of crazy shit from fucking. Seriously, I was like _this close—_" Vanitas drew his forefinger and thumb close together, "—to getting herpes once. No joke!"

Sora's cheeks flushed at the embarrassing topic, but he nodded all the same.

"Great!" Vanitas gathered his bags and stored his pipe in his pocket. "Well! Take it easy, bro!" He waved once more to Sora and was out the door.

* * *

**[1] **"The Great Game."** This is the same title as the third episode of the series **_**Sherlock**_**. **_**God,**_** can you guys tell that I'm totally anticipating next season? Hound of Baskervilles! EYAHHH! XD I wish they'd do "The Adventure of the Dying Detective," though.**

**So yeah, now you all finally know why Vanitas is here. Yay. (Gotta love Vanitas. Hahaha.) I originally wanted to make this chapter a lot angstier. What I find hilarious is that this chapter came out COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from what I had in mind. They always do! It's crazy!**

**- See you all next chapter!**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	14. Chapter 14

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

**Edited: May 5th, 2012 because Kreyana brought up a _rather obvious_ lack of continuity. You bad yaoi readers. You didn't even notice my most obvious grievance! (Well, alright, I didn't notice it either, but shhhh!)**

* * *

_Chapter 14: Summer Days_

* * *

_June_

* * *

Riku and Sora walked into the pet store. After a short glance around, the silver-haired teen looked to his boyfriend.

"Well, go crazy," he encouraged, beaming.

A faint blush colored the brunette's cheeks. "Riku, I… you don't have to do this…"

"I _want_ to do this, Sora," Riku corrected. "I want something that'll keep you company and make sure you think of me."

"I don't think I'll ever stop thinking of you," Sora murmured. Riku smiled at that and took his hand.

"Pick a pet," he said. "I'll pay for the food and everything."

"No, I-I can't ask you to pay for so much!"

"Sora," Riku pressed his lips against the shell of Sora's ear and purred. "Just be good and accept my gift."

Sora felt his cheeks heat up exponentially. Gods, when did Riku become so persuasive? The brunette turned his attention to the cats. Despite the fact that he and his father skinned and gutted the felines on occasion, Sora liked them and had always thought of keeping one. He made a bee-line for the wall of cats, each of them separated by their cages. There were felines of all ages; kittens, young cats and old, lazy, fat cats. There were several cubicles in the pet store for future owners to meet any prospective pets. Sora requested a few felines to be brought out so he could see them personally.

"I like this one," Riku said offhandedly as a white kitten batted at Sora's nose playfully.

The brunette hummed thoughtfully. "I'd like to see more cats, though. Do you have any interesting ones?" Sora asked the male employee.

"Uh, well—" the man began.

Suddenly, the mortician's son caught sight of a cat crouching at the far end of the cages. It was a large, black, female cat; its left paw was white, its green eyes were fixated on the brunette. Sora went up to the cat's cage and pressed his hands against the glass. The cat glanced up at him, twitched a lazy ear and then squished its nose on the glass in response. Sora smiled his little flashlight-under-the-chin smile and, to Riku's utter surprise, the cat grinned back in the same fashion.

"I want this one," Sora said, pointing at the feline.

"Um, I don't think you want that one!" The employee stuttered. "She's really aggressive, and she doesn't like anyone."

"I think she likes me," the brunette said without looking at the employee.

"No, sir, you don't understand. That cat is _lethal_," the man stressed. "All its previous owners brought it right back the day they brought it home. They've all complained that it scratches anyone who tries to pet it and it's really, really scary! The Humane Society's tried to gas it _twice_ and—well, obviously you can see that it survived."

"You've tried to kill it _twice_?" Riku asked incredulously. He stared at the cat.

"And there's rumor that it was once hit by a sixteen-wheeled truck, too…." The employee went on.

Sora looked immensely pleased and turned his gaze to the silver-haired teen. "I want this one," he repeated.

Riku swallowed. The brunette was thinking about taking care of a cat that survived certain death more than once?_! _Was he insane—Oh wait.

"Does it… have to be that one?" Riku asked. Already his mind was entertaining several painful scenarios involving the terrifying cat.

Behind the glass, a frightened female employee gingerly opened the metal door in the back to refill the cat's food bowl. In a flash, the feline attacked, immediately going for the woman's face. The employee let out a muted scream and waved her arms frantically as her head was mercilessly attacked. She eventually fell to the ground and was out of sight, though her flailing feet made several appearances. The other cats rioted at the sounds of a fight, running in circles in the cages, yowling, hissing and spitting. Next to the cat cages, the dogs had started to go ballistic as well.

"Yes, she's good. I can tell,**[1]**" Sora said, his thin, slit-like grin all the wider.

Eyes staring straight forward, and fearing that his fellow co-worker might have very well been mauled to death by a deadly cat, the employee pulled out a clipboard.

"Would you like to pick out a collar and a tag for her?" He asked in a hushed, shaky voice. "We're having a special fifteen percent discount for pet owners who buy animals from us."

"Yes," the brunette said. "I would like to name her 'Gougie.' G-O-U-G-I-E. Like 'eye gouging.'"

* * *

Surprisingly enough, the cat was quite tamed in Sora's arms …and only Sora's. The first day she was brought home, Gougie yowled and clawed at anyone who tried to get close to the brunette. Riku sported a very nasty cut on his chin after trying to kiss Sora good-bye. Even Leon did not seem to like the cat. He often dropped comments like "Hmm, my cats are running in short supply today" or even more obvious, "Oh, I seemed to have misplaced my bear traps. It would be _so very awful_ if Gougie just happened to tread upon them."

"I apologize for her…" the mortician's son said, the cat in his arms. It was almost hilarious how harmless it looked when Sora was holding it.

"It's not your fault," Riku said, eyeing the feline warily.

"I think Gougie just has to get used to you," Sora offered. He held the cat out to him, Riku immediately drew back.

"Sora, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Try and hold her," the brunette encouraged.

"Sora, I really don't think this is a good idea…" Riku could feel his chin stinging, but at Sora's urging, he took the feline carefully. She was already growling loudly. The silver-haired teen felt his heart pounding in his chest with fear. He was holding a cat, a cat that did not like him and was named Gougie, after "eye gouging." Gods help him.

Gougie hissed and Riku jumped.

"Gougie, play nice!" Sora ordered.

The cat quieted down, but she still looked rather miffed.

"Gougie…" the brunette warned.

Gougie meowed in complaint.

"I don't care how much you love me. I love Riku and if you hurt him again, I won't like you anymore!"

The feline seemed to understand and reluctantly began to relax in the silver-haired teen's arms. Riku was starting to suspect that Sora had some sort of power over animals as well.

* * *

Riku passed by his window and paused. After a split-second of contemplation, he peered through his window again. He could have sworn he saw something sitting on the bushes outside, a funny-looking black cat with a cream-colored chest and a crown on its head.

The silver-haired teen rubbed his eye and continued on his way to his room.

* * *

"Yo, baby bro!" Vanitas greeted as he placed his cell phone to his ear. "What's up?"

"_Good evening, Vanitas,"_ Sora replied. _"Can I ask you a personal question?"_

"Sure, shoot."

"_You've had sex before, right?" _

The ebony-haired man sat up from his couch with a combination of interest and joy that Sora would come to him for advice on sex. "Yeah."

"_How did… how did you know when would be the… proper time to copulate?" _

"Umm…" In the back of his mind, Vanitas felt like he was talking to some forty-year-old virgin instead of his seventeen-year-old brother. He really should think about taking Sora out more. The kid needed to interact with society like a proper teenager. "I dunno. I guess whenever your gut tells you. It's really important to listen to your instincts when it comes to things as personal and potentially spiritually transcending as sex. But you have to sort of input your environment into the equation. You know, like, you don't wanna have the urge to get it on in like, a supermarket or something. 'Cause that can count as indecent exposure and they can totally fine you. But if that's like… your thing, I guess—"

"_I'm not fond of exhibitionism."_

"Well, I'm just saying if that's what gets it up, it's nothing to be ashamed about. I mean, I've always thought about doing the dirty in something epic like a construction crane. Or on a grizzly bear. Grizzly bears are awesome. No, I'm not just saying that 'cause I'm stoned. I've actually thought it would be totally cool to do that."

"_Vanitas, I'm not going to lie to you, having intercourse on top of a bear sounds dangerous, irrational and borderline idiotic. The grizzly bear can reach a speed of sixty miles per hour after four steps."_

"Shit. Really?"

"_Yes. I strongly advise against attempting such a dangerous stunt because you'd probably be mauled horribly. But I thank you for answering my question. I'm going to hang up now."_

"All right. Glad I could be of help!"

* * *

One day in mid-June, Demyx invited his friends for a sleepover. Their group lived for Demyx's sleep-overs, which were easily the highlight of the summer (aside from birthdays.) They spent the night watching movies, eating junk food, playing video games, board games, or party games, and, occasionally, they would chat the night away. This time, Demyx decided that he wanted a Pass-It-On Horror Story. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into when he invited Sora to play.

"…And the little Leo walked into the haunted woods, totally unprepared for what happened next aaaaaaannnnnd…" Tidus handed the empty soda bottle, which they were using to mark whose turn it was to tell the story, to Sora.

"…the moment he stepped into the forest, Leo knew something was wrong," Sora said in a hushed whisper. He was in his element; his eyes seemed to glimmer even in the dim glow of the lamp (the only source of light in the room) and his thin, trademark smile creeped along his face. Almost immediately the mood of the light-humored party shifted.

"He felt someone following him," the brunette continued, "trudging along with erratic, heavy steps, but he was too scared to turn and see who, or _what_, it was. Everything seemed to look the same—he thought he was going in circles. Did the creature shadowing him know this? Finally Leo could not take it anymore. He snatched a stick from the ground and whirled around to face his stalker—FLASH!" The entire group jumped. Demyx clutched onto Zexion's arm so hard that the lilac-haired teen winced. Tidus, who was holding a pizza, had stopped eating it. Wakka's eyes were wide open. Riku swallowed nervously. Roxas, despite himself, inched closer to Axel.

"It had only been there when the lightening flashed—just in that short instant—but Leo was certain…" Sora paused, "…there had been something there.

"Up above, the lightening exploded again and Leo saw the creature appear once more in the moment the forest was filled with sharp, blue light. It was a huge, monstrous creature with a dog's body and a grotesque man's head… and it was closer. **[2]**

"FLASH! The creature was there again, but this time it was only twenty feet from him."

"Ow, Demyx, you're hurting my arm…" Zexion murmured. The mullet-mohawked teen didn't reply.

"FLASH! Now it was only ten feet," Sora went on. "Leo knew he couldn't out run the thing. It was too fast! Faster than he could imagine! Faster than he could blink! All he could do was stand there, frozen, as he waited for the terror to meet him.

"FLASH! Five feet separated them and—"

"EYAAAAAAAH!" Demyx screamed and bolted from the room. "DON'T LET IT GET MEEEEE!" The remaining teens stared at each other, stunned, for several minutes. Then, Zexion got to his feet.

"I'll go after him," the lilac-haired teen said.

Sora glanced around the room, frowning. "That's a shame," he said. "I was just about to hand the bottle to him. Whose turn is it now?"

* * *

Despite his cat's ways, Sora loved her. The brunette talked to her on occasion and Gougie sat and listened attentively, often meowing back. Gougie had free reign over the house, but she was well-behaved aside from her rash possessiveness over Sora. The black cat didn't scratch the furniture, meow at the wee hours of the morning or raid any foodstuffs. Gougie was slowly warming up to Riku, but she still growled when the silver-haired teen kissed Sora. Though, at least Riku managed to get away with that much without incident. Then the eighteen-year-old made the mistake of thinking he could instigate a make-out session with Sora with Gougie still in the room. Like a raging, evil furball straight from the fires of Hell, the cat launched itself at Riku and sank her claws deep into his thigh. Riku spent about ten minutes screaming in pure, humiliating, bloody agony until Sora managed to pry Gougie from the older teen's leg and kick her out of his room.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry, Riku," Sora apologized quickly, his head down and shoulders hunched over like some sort of wounded puppy. He was tending to Riku's thigh, which bore six shallow gashes just inches below where the thigh met the hip. Once the cat was out of the way, the brunet had been quick to make Riku comfortable, even laying a very soft comforter on the floor pilled with pillows and an extra blanket for him. The silver-haired teen's pants had been removed for better access to the injured area, which had now been bandaged up nicely and had an ice pack sitting on it to ensure optimum recovery.

"It's okay, Sora. Really, I'm pretty sure I'll live." Riku grinned sheepishly. He has suffered far worse injuries at the hands of his father during their martial arts sessions.

The silver-haired teen rubbed his arm nervously. Sora was examining his bare thigh a bit too closely for his comfort. Not that it wasn't welcomed, but he knew that the situation would become very awkward if he didn't watch himself. He turned away and thought of unsexy things.

'Kittens gashed upon the road, Santa Claus being beaten, mailmen,' Riku went through his list, 'bananas in blenders, Sora's hands feel so nice, no wait—!"

"Riku, are you all right? Your face is red."

"O-oh no, i-it's nothing. It's just… well…"

Sora tilted his head to the side, genuinely confused.

"Uh, nevermind," Riku said, sighing heavily.

"Are you trying to prompt something sexual due to the fact that you are in my room without pants?" The mortician's son asked.

It didn't seem so bad the way the mortician's son said it. Regardless, they had both gotten very red as they realized the potentiality of the situation. Sora felt lightweight, but edgy, somehow; as if he and Riku were perched over some cliff face, ready to tumble into something new, scary and fantastic. They knew they both had the potential to fall into that radical sensation, but really… they only needed one of them to have the courage lean forward first.

"I suppose it would be logical," Sora continued, his cheeks flushing even darker. It was his objective way of tipping them. "Dad's away to deliver a body to Wonderland and he won't be in until tomorrow evening. Gougie's out too…"

Riku almost turned away in complete shock. He never thought that Sora would be the one to offer first. The silver-haired teen knew that it would be _incredibly _irresponsible for him to instigate sex. They were both young, and did Sora even know what he was asking—No wait, yes. Yes, the mortician's son did know. Sora wasn't naïve; socially awkward at times yes, but definitely not naïve. He wasn't like those teenagers who threw themselves into adult situations thinking that a half-assed attitude and overconfidence would make everything all right. He knew what sex was, that it could mean more than just an action, just as Riku did.

Testing, the older teen grasped Sora's waist with both hands and coasted him gently onto his lap, careful to let him rest his weight on his non-injured leg. Riku placed his hands on Sora's thighs. The brunette's face flushed a slightly darker shade of red, but this was nothing the silver-haired teen hadn't done. Then, swallowing thickly, Riku cupped Sora's groin, something he had never done before. The mortician's son involuntarily gasped and gripped Riku's shoulders, almost crumpling under the new zing of electric-like feelings. The eighteen-year-old almost lost himself at the sight of Sora's expression. Utilizing every iota of his self control, the older teen paused. Even if the brunette had been the one who suggested starting first, Riku wanted to make sure that Sora was comfortable enough to continue. The mortician's son looked frightened and his face had turned so red Riku was concerned Sora was about to have a massive nose bleed, but there was certainly confidence in the brunette's face, and trust and love.

At last, the dam of restraint broke and—injured leg be damned—Riku all but threw himself at Sora; latching his mouth onto his.

* * *

"Sora?"

"Yes, Riku?" The brunette rolled over to look at him, the white blanket clinging around his slim waist sensually. Riku almost forgot that he should look up to address his boyfriend.

"Your Dad… he isn't going to… kill me… is he?" the silver-haired teen asked, feeling the hairs on his arms stand on end nervously.

Sora hummed. "I'll talk to him," he said as he snuggled close to Riku. "Though, you probably should avoid him for the next few days. It's also best if you stay home and avoid sharp objects and firearms. And you should keep the windows shut tight and check your bed sheets before you sleep in them. Oh, and don't stick your head out open windows. You might want to spray Raid in your room and check your shoes for spiders, too. And stay away from cats. And dogs. And birds. Actually, just stay away from all animals in general. Moreover, don't climb into hollow objects you can fit into and think twice about things you dismiss as hallucinations."

* * *

"Hey Riku!" Vanitas greeted.

The silver-haired teen was startled. He hadn't seen the ebony-haired man since finals week. Though he harbored no more suspicions about Vanitas since Sora had explained the nature of the twenty-three-year-old's initial visit, Riku was still surprised to see him here.

"Hi Vanitas," Riku replied. "Um, is Sora around?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs. So! I heard you guys had sex. Good on you, dude!" Vanitas clapped a hand the other's shoulder. "Didn't think you had it in you! Oh! Right! Just a little piece of advice from one man to another." The ebony-haired man yanked Riku's ear close to his mouth. "If you dare hurt Sora I swear I will rip your testicles off and strangle you with your spermatic cord," he whispered menacingly.

Vanitas pulled away from Riku and patted his back. "Got it?" He beamed. "Great!"

The ebony-haired man jogged up the stairs. "Sora! Riku's here!" He announced.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Riku! Good afternoon, Sora!" Setsuna greeted cheerfully. She went up to Sora and gave him a hug. "I've missed you!"

The silver-haired teen rolled his eyes at his mother's strange need to dote on his boyfriend. "Haha-ue, you saw him last week."

"Oh, but I never get to see Sora as often as you do!" She giggled and pulled away from him. "Ne, Sora! I've bought some oreo-cream pie today. When Riku's finished up, why don't you have some?"

Riku looked confused. "Finished up with what, Haha—Oh." The eighteen-year-old's eyes widened with realization. "Right. I almost forgot."

Riku turned to Sora. "Wait here a bit," he said, tentatively going for his door. The silver-haired teen tapped the knob once and backed off, figuring it wasn't rigged he placed his hand on it, opened it slowly and closed it behind him.

There was a wide range of random sounds that ensued afterwards once the door shut. SCHWEE! SPUNK! SHWOOP! THUNK! THUNK-THUNK-THUNK-THUNK-THUNK! Riku could be heard cursing lowly.

"Is it always like this?" Sora asked Setsuna with a little concern.

"Oh, everyday. Sometimes it's worse," she replied. "I used to worry after Sephiroth brought out the knives and swords and things, but Riku's become so skilled now."

DA-DUMP. DA-DA-DA-DA-DA! SNAP! There was a sound of an alligator's jaws snapping closed. SNAP-SNAP-SNAP! WHUMP! The silver-haired teen cursed again. KA-CHA! THUNK! DA-DOOM!

Silence.

Riku opened the door, slightly out of breath, his right sleeve cut, clothes in disarray, and hair messy. "Sorry 'bout that," he panted, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to get it back in order. "Um, you can come in now, Sora."

* * *

Riku opened the door one night to find Leon standing there. The silver-haired teen's first impulse was to shut the door, race up to his room, assume the fetal position and weep, but he realized a moment later that would not only be humiliating, but also useless.

"G-good evening, Leon," Riku said.

"Evening, Riku," the mortician answered. "Are your parents home?"

The silver-haired teen shook his head with a hint of dread. He was all alone in his house. There were no witnesses to see the dark deed Leon was going to do.

"May I come in?" The mortician asked.

"Of course." Riku stood aside to let him in and quickly drew up a mental list of people he should thank for making his life meaningful.

"Well, I assume you know that this is about you and Sora and the recent…" he paused for a moment, "step you've taken in your relationship." He strode into the Yorushi home leisurely, his hands behind his waist. He didn't say anything for a while. What was he thinking? Was he planning on making this ordeal as long as possible? To watch Riku squirm in terrifying anticipation until he finally struck?

Riku couldn't take it anymore. "Yes, we had sex!" He blurted out in a panic. "It's true and there's nothing you can do to stop us because we love each other and we're young and I just love Sora so much you'll have to kill me to make me stop!"

Leon tilted his head to one side curiously. "I was just going to extend my best regards for you two and hope that you would continue to exercise protection and cautionary measures," he said. "But thank you for your input, Riku. That's nice to know."

* * *

One lazy afternoon, Sora and Riku decided to eat lunch at a nearby diner they liked to frequent. They had just come from a Jazz Band concert that featured a saxophonist Sora idolized. Riku had gone to the restroom and had come out precisely when he heard two gothic-looking teenagers, who appeared about eighteen and were sitting at the barstools, talking about Sora.

"Hey, check out that kid over there," one of them, a pale adolescent with short black hair, said as he nudged his friend. "He's pretty cute."

The short purple-haired teen nodded nodded, which made his nose piercing gleam in the sunlight."Yeah, I'd totally fuck him," he added.

Riku felt his shoulders irk in aggravation.

"Mm-hm," the nose-studded one narrowed his eyes appreciatively.

"Maybe we should both go over there and talk to hi—"

There was a loud, definite BANG! And the short-haired teen fell out of his seat.

"What the hell!" he shouted, glaring up at Riku as his purple-haired friend angrily got to his feet.

"Sorry," Riku said, though his tone was evidence to the contrary. "My foot slipped."

The black-haired teenager's hand dove into his pocket for his switchblade. He paused when he saw that the metal stool he had been sitting on now bore a gigantic dent. So gigantic, in fact, that it was warped into a near ninety degree angle.

The black-haired teen raised his fearful eyes to Riku. "N-n-no prob," he stammered.

Riku smiled and strolled over to his booth to pick up his boyfriend.

"Hey, Riku," Sora spoke up as they left the restaurant.

"Mm-hm?" The eighteen-year-old answered.

"That was really cool."

Riku grinned and held the brunette closer.

* * *

_July_

* * *

Once in a while, Sora would come over and show Riku several recipes. The new tradition had started one boring afternoon in the Yorushi house and Sora proved to a great teacher. Though Sora's cooking naturally tended to look gruesome, Riku wasn't bothered in the least because it still tasted amazing. But the silver-haired teen never knew that cooking could be so sexy until the afternoon Sora taught him how to make brownies from scratch.

"So how long do we leave them there?" Riku asked, peeking through his oven's window.

"About twenty minutes," Sora responded. The brunette swirled his finger in the silver mixing bowl they had used. "I like to leave them in there until I can smell them from the next room. Then I turn the oven off."

Sora lifted his finger from the bowel, which was covered in brownie mix. His pink tongue poked out between his soft lips and tentatively licked his finger, totally unaware of the suggestive motion. "Mmm," the brunette moaned, happily shutting his eyes.

Riku, who had been in the process of removing a spatula from the washing machine to clean the mixing bowel, quickly abandoned the task.

The mortician's son's tongue gave his finger another long, painfully provocative lick. The silver-haired teen felt his mouth turn suddenly dry. Despite himself, his mind shamelessly turned over some very, _very_ naughty ideas in his head. Sora noticed his boyfriend staring at him. Gods, did Sora know what he was doing to him?

"Riku, do you want some?" he asked. The brunette leisurely lapped at his finger again from the base to the tip, his eyes on Riku the entire time. In a completely uncharacteristically sensual—but not totally unwelcomed—manner, Sora smiled.

_That _had certainly been deliberate. The silver-haired teen's eyes bulged as he felt his pants suddenly grow inexplicably tight.

"Riku," Sephiroth peered into the kitchen, shattering the sexual atmosphere in an instant. "Please refrain from having sex in the kitchen or its surrounding areas. We eat there."

Sora whirled around, suddenly becoming occupied with a spot on the counter. Riku nervously rubbed his arm. "Yes, Chichi-ue."

* * *

"You know what, Sora?" The silver-haired teen spoke up one day as they sat in the brunette's room. Riku happened to be flipping through a book on symbolic dreams.

"Yes, Riku?" Sora responded.

"I've been having these… weird dreams lately."

"Weird dreams?" The mortician's son repeated.

"Yeah, of this cat… this black cat, watching me."

Sora casted a glance to Gougie and Riku shook his head.

"No, I don't mean Gougie," the silver-haired teen. "I mean this weird-looking cat. I think it's a doll, with an off-white chest and it stands on its hind legs."

The brunette gave him a long glance. "On its hind legs, you say?"

"Yeah."

"And you said it was a doll?"

"Yeah. But it…" Riku paused, struggling to remember. "It _moves_, but only when I'm not looking. And when I grab it, I wake up."

One edge of Sora's mouth tugged downward, just a little bit. "Hm. Interesting, Riku," he said. "Perhaps you should consult my dream symbology book—is something wrong?" The brunette asked suddenly as Riku's head snapped to the window.

"U-uh, it's nothing!" The silver-haired teen said quickly just as Sora was about to turn to see for himself. "I think I was just seeing things."

* * *

Sora tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the other line to pick up.

"_Hello?" _a relaxed woman's voice answered.

"Good morning, Great-Aunt Lulu," the brunette greeted.

"_Ah! Sora! How's my favorite nephew doing today? And how many times must I tell you to just please call me 'Aunt Lulu?' It makes me feel less old."_

"Of course Aunt Lulu," Sora corrected. "I'm doing fine today. I also know that you've sent your Cait Sith to follow Riku and I respectfully request that you stop."

A pause, then a thoughtful hum. _"Oh, all right. I'll stop, Sora. I was only curious about him. I apologize if I have offended you."_

"Apology accepted, Aunt Lulu, but were the memory wipes really necessary?"

"_Oh, that's a built-in defense mechanism the dolls have when they're touched. I apologize for that as well."_

"You're very fortunate Riku thought his memory lapses were dreams."

"_I meant no harm."_

"I know you didn't, Aunt Lulu," Sora sighed. "Also, please tell Grandmother, Grandfather, Great-Great-Uncle Vincent, Great-Uncle Mort, Aunt Flora, Aunt Fauna, and Aunt Merryweather to stop keeping tabs on Riku too."

"_My goodness, I didn't realize they were watching."_

"Yes, they are. Thank the Gods they only just started and their interventions haven't been very intrusive."

Lulu couldn't help but notice that her great-nephew sounded a bit too relieved.

"I'm aware all of you have my best interests at heart," the brunette continued, "but honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd be insulted."

"_Insulted? How so?"_

"I don't understand why my entire family has to react so dramatically to my first intimate relationship. Riku is a very good person. I love him very much and I trust him completely. For goodness sake, it's as if you all think that for some strange reason my romantic life is destined to end in disaster. It's very discouraging. I highly doubt Riku's family is giving me this much scrutiny."

At the sound of three crisp knocks, the brunette turned his head to the door.

"You'll have to excuse me, Aunt Lulu," Sora said. "There's someone at the door. Please give everyone my best regards. Good-bye."

* * *

It was late afternoon when Sephiroth summoned Riku to his study. After dodging several flying axes, kicking away the rabid Doberman and leaping over the venomous snake pit fortified with sharpened bamboo, Riku stepped purposefully into the room. He set his eyes on the pale woman standing next to his father. Though she looked young—probably in her early thirties—Riku knew she was very old. She had long, silver hair and wore a silky, light blue dress. Her matching heels served to accentuate her tall figure, making her seem like she towered over whoever she was close to, even Sephiroth. The silver-haired teen knew that with what he saw outside Sora's window, his grandmother wouldn't be too far behind. Riku bowed first before speaking.

"Sobo-ue*," Riku addressed. "I am very happy to see you. I also noticed that you sent one of your small, mobile cameras to observe my boyfriend today."

Jenova set her violet eyes on her grandson and gave a small smile. "My dear Riku," she began in a soft, silky voice, "you've decided to deprive me of some very cute great-grandchildren. I simply wanted to see your reason for myself."

Riku slowly released the nervous breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. She had spoken with neither abhorrence nor hatred, just curiosity. Even though Riku loved her, he always kept a small pocket of fear reserved for his grandmother. She was civil and moved gracefully because it suited her purpose. She never needed to raise her voice because everyone knew that out of the entire Yorushi family, _she_ was the deadliest and most powerful. So when Jenova Yorushi had something to say, everyone listened.

"Of course, Sephiroth has given me a small account of your relationship," she placed a delicate hand on the silver-haired man's shoulder. "I know you're capable of deciding your partner for yourself, but can you blame your grandmother for being a little concerned?" She went up to Riku and placed her hand against the side of his face, a warm gesture that calmed the silver-haired teen down exponentially.

"May I speak freely, Sobo-ue?" Riku requested. Jenova gave a dainty nod and the eighteen-year-old continued. "Sora makes me happy. I love him with all my heart."

Jenova said nothing for a few seconds, which made Riku very nervous.

"All right, darling," she said. "If you're certain that he's the one for you. However, I will say that I did do a background check on Sora Leonhart and I personally had a chat with him. He is…"

The silver-haired teen held his breath again. His stomach had dissolved into a mass of squirming butterflies in the tense silence.

"…interesting," she concluded. "I like him." Jenova turned to Riku's father. "I'm afraid I must leave, Sephiroth. I've pressing matters to attend to. Thank you for allowing me intrude upon your busy schedule."

"Not at all, Haha-ue," Sephiroth said, smiling in return. He took her hand and kissed it.

Jenova gave one last glance to Riku before heading out of the room. "Good-bye, Riku. I look forward to seeing you again."

The silver-haired teen bowed as she left.

* * *

"So Sora you… met my grandmother yesterday," Riku began slowly as Sora invited him into his home the next day.

"Yes, she is a very intriguing woman," the brunette said.

A relieved grin spread across the eighteen-year-old's face. "That's good. Uh, what exactly did you say to her?" he asked, undoubtedly curious of the conversation between his high-classed grandmother and his macabre boyfriend.

"She told me who she was and asked me a couple things about you, how were things with us collectively, how serious I was about you. I said I liked you as much as Gougie likes to dismember her mouse toys. She smiled and said that she found me very pleasant. I replied that I liked her as well and that I was also fond of her shoes."

"Her… shoes?" Riku looked perplexed.

"Yes, did you notice?" Sora looked to him. "They were the kind with the extendable blade hidden in the heel. She seemed very pleased when I noticed it. She's a very dangerous woman, isn't she?"

"You've no idea…"

An ecstatic, dark, slim smile curved on Sora's lips. "I like your family, Riku."

Riku found himself smiling back. For one brief moment, he thought of the future, and fancied what his and Sora's wedding would be like and what sort of havoc and mayhem would occur when their psychotic, crazy families gathered in one room.

* * *

"I refuse," Sora said, folding his arms stubbornly over his bare chest.

"Come on, Sora!" Riku persisted.

"Absolutely not!"

"Just this once. I'll never ask you to do it again."

"No!"

"I think you'll look cute in it."

"I don't care!"

"Please, for me?"

"No! Not even if you promise to do that thing I like you to do!"

"What if I do that_ other_ thing you like me to do? You know. With my tongue."

"I don't care if you have the heavenly techniques of a sex god! I am not wearing a dress!"

* * *

"You're going to teach Sora how to drive," Riku said flatly, eyeing Vanitas warily.

"Yeah!" the ebony-haired man said, grasping Sora's shoulder and shaking him playfully.

They were sitting in Riku's kitchen, eating through a bag of chips. Sora and Vanitas sat on one side, while Riku sat opposite.

"You," the silver-haired teen repeated, pointing at the twenty-three-year-old. "You're going to teach him."

"Uh, yeah_,_ I just said that, didn't I?"

"Do you even have a car?" Riku asked skeptically.

"Of course I have a car!" Vanitas said, insulted. "It's a beautiful, awesome, _amazing_ car with no dents in it! Except for this one little kink I used to have in the front fender. But I fixed it now. And it wasn't my fault! That pole totally appeared out of nowhere!"

The silver-haired teen casted a worried look to Sora.

* * *

"So you had your first driving lesson today," Riku said as he picked up Sora to go to the movies the next evening.

The brunette nodded. The eighteen-year-old couldn't help but notice that Sora was a tiny bit disheartened.

"How was it?" he pressed, though he was sort of apprehensive about the answer himself.

"I hit a bicyclist five minutes into practice," the mortician's son said dropping his face into his hands in depression. "I'm terrible. I was even going just thirty miles an hour and I _still_ got into an accident. I don't think Vanitas is going to let me anywhere near his car now. And I don't think Dad'll teach me once he hears about this." He sighed.

"Is the guy okay?" the silver-haired teen asked.

"What guy?" Sora lifted his head in confusion.

"The one you hit."

"Oh, him. Yes, he's fine," the brunette said frivolously.

* * *

Riku's birthday was celebrated with only moderate pomp and circumstance. Neither Riku or Sephiroth were partial to grand parties, though Setsuna did overdo the decorations. So much that it was almost impossible to walk through the house without squinting away from the onslaught of bright colors and glitter. Riku's small group of friends was invited to celebrate at the Yorushi house. They each brought a present for him. Setsuna cooked up a buffet-sized meal. Everyone ate, talked, and played games until no one could keep their eyes open anymore.

It was small and humble. But it was enough for Riku just because Sora was there. The brunette presented him with a rare, beautiful katana that even made Sephiroth a little envious. And also, part two of Riku's present took place in bed.

* * *

Riku went up to the Leonhart house, hardly giving the unfamiliar Mecedes parked outside it another glance. He was about to knock on the door when his instincts told him to leap back… and not a moment too soon. The door banged open and Vanitas dashed out like the devil himself was at his heels.

"No! You can never make me go back!" The twenty-three-year-old shouted. "Never!"

Riku followed him with his gaze, just about to ask who he was talking to when a cream-colored high heel shot out of the house and struck the back of Vanitas' head with a resounding _CRACK_. Vanitas fell face-down into the cement and was still.

A tall, blonde woman with glasses, a cream-colored suit, and noticeably only one matching high-heel stalked out of the Leonhart residence with a scowl on her face. She caught sight of Riku—who flinched at her intimidating gaze—out of the corner of her eye and the anger in her face dissipated in an instant.

"Oh, you must be Riku, Vanitas' brother's boyfriend," she said, sweeping a stray lock of hair from her eyes. She grasped the silver-haired teen's hand and shook it cordially as she introduced herself. "Quistis Trepe, Vanitas and I are flatmates and co-workers. Nice to meet you. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get this idiot back to Badlands." She jerked her thumb in Vanitas' direction.

Moments later, Sora emerged from the house, looking rather worried. Quistis turned to him.

"It's been nice meeting you, Sora, Riku," she said. "But I'm afraid we have to go now or our boss'll have our heads." Quistis slipped on her missing heel and went up to Vanitas' limp body. The ebony-haired man came around long enough to get his bearings and barely start another escape attempt when Quistis' shoe stamped down on his lower back and pinned him in place.

"You're not getting away that easily, Vanitas!" she snarled, slipping back into her vicious demeanor. Quistis turned to Sora and Riku. "I'll send someone to fetch his car later."

She yanked up the twenty-three-year-old's upper half by his collar and dragged him to the Mercedes. Vanitas gave a pitiful glance to Riku and Sora before he was thrown unceremoniously into Quistis' car.

It was the first time Riku ever truly felt sorry for the man.

* * *

The July evenings were perfect for star-gazing. The air was warm and the nights were cloudless. Sora often came over to accompany Riku on the roof and they would spend hours looking up at the stars as they held hands.

"Sora?" Riku asked one night.

"Yes?"

"What are you planning to be?" The nineteen-year-old realized that he never questioned his boyfriend on what he was going to do with his life.

Sora stretched a bit before answering. "A mortician," he said simply. "I can go to a college and get a degree in funeral service if I want to, but I can start working once I pass the board exams. Though, it's not like Dad hasn't let me help him before." The brunette turned to him. "And you're going to be an astronomer, right, Riku?"

Riku nodded. "Yup," he said, raising a finger to the stars. "My head will be up there… for the next nine years," he added grimly as he thought of the copious amounts of studying and papers ahead of him.

"Don't get too lost in the stars." Sora meant to tease him, but he found himself feeling a little sad to say those words.

"I won't," Riku promised. He looked to Sora. "No matter how many fantastic galaxies or stars or nebulas I'll look at, I'll always return to you." He rolled over onto his side to face the brunette completely and kissed him.

The mortician's son smiled. "That's good," he said. "I'll be waiting here. All you have to do is remember to come to Twilight Town, and you'll find me."

* * *

In his dark, westward-facing room, Sora held something in his hands.

"Yes, I've given you his hair," he whispered to it. "You know his name already."

The little thing nodded and its stitched mouth murmured something back. It was only because Sora's ears were accustomed to the quiet noises of the supernatural that he understood it.

The mortician's son bobbed his head. "I have it here." He pulled out a small bone and placed it to the thing's lips. Instantly, it gobbled up the little bone and gave a soft, satisfied sigh of relief. Its lips moved once more.

Sora nodded, raised a small athame and nicked his index finger. It eagerly latched onto the wound and sucked three drops worth of blood. It muttered something again.

"Yes, you have to protect him. If you ensure his safety, this body will be yours to keep," Sora stroked its small chin. "So, do we have a deal?"

* * *

The days were passing by slowly towards Riku's inevitable launch to college life. Riku and Sora spent as much time as they could together. However, as the fateful day approached, the brunette was becoming more and more anxious, but Riku did not hear a peep of a complaint.

Sora came by early to help him pack for the long flight to Neverland, despite the fact Riku insisted that it wasn't necessary. But the brunette was at his doorstep at seven o'clock sharp, ready to lend any assistance. Although he told Riku he was fine, the slump of Sora's shoulders and his unusually impassive face told the silver-haired teen otherwise. They didn't really speak to each other aside from some superficial comments.

"Sora," Riku spoke up as the brunette was taping up some boxes labeled "clothes."

Sora looked up. "Yes?"

The nineteen-year-old moved next to him, brushing his thumb along the brunette's hand to make him look up to him.

"I'm scared, too," Riku said.

Sora's eyes watered and he bit his lips. "I promised myself I wouldn't complain when this day came…" He rested his forehead on his boyfriend's clavicle. Riku wrapped his arms around him.

"I won't mind if you complain," he said.

"But _I_ do…" Sora persisted. "It's supposed to be a happy day for you. I don't want to… ruin it."

The silver-haired teen held him tighter. "I love you," he said.

Sora clutched his shirt tightly. "I love you too."

They loaded the cargo into the car and together Riku's family and Sora headed to the airport. Unfortunately, they could only go with Riku so far as the security checkpoints. After a half-awkward moment of silence, Sephiroth extended a meaningful handshake to his son, Setsuna nearly crushed Riku with a loving bear hug, and finally Sora stepped up to deliver his good-bye.

Swallowing an uncomfortable lump in his throat, the brunette pulled out a doll of Riku the size of his palm. It was a well-done replication with painted eyes, silver hair, and dressed in the silver-haired teen's favorite clothes: a high-collared, yellow, no-sleeved shirt, baggy jeans and even a pair of shoes. The head was rather large, which contributed a bit of cuteness, and the hands were adorable stubs that bore no fingers for simplicity's sake. The nineteen-year-old loved it.

"Sora, this looks amazing!" Riku said in wonder. For one split-second, the older teen could have sworn that the little doll waved to him. Just for one instant. But that couldn't be…

"The hair is yours," the mortician's son spoke up, effectively ending Riku's train of thought.

"What?" The silver-haired teen's turned to him.

"Do you remember? That day I took some of your hair?"

It took a moment for Riku to recall. Ah yes, last year. At the Halloweentown museum.

"I made this from it," Sora went on. "I... hope you'll accept it, I worked very hard on it." The brunette cradled the doll in his palms.

"Of course I accept it," the nineteen-year-old said, carefully taking the little Riku replica from the brunette's hand.

"It'll keep you safe," Sora added.

"I'll treasure it," he assured him.

The brunette smiled, placed his arms around Riku's neck and kissed him. "Promise you'll come back to me, Riku." Sora whispered to him.

The nineteen-year-old kissed him back. "I promise."

Slowly, reluctantly, Sora unwound his arms and released him. Riku picked up his backpack, his only carry-on, and went through the security check. Once he passed through the metal detector, and retrieved his baggage, he waved once more to his family and boyfriend. Sora realized at that point that this would truly be the last time he would see Riku for months, at the very least. His heart leaped to his throat and he had a one last ridiculous urge to call out to him, to shout for him to come back. Instead, Sora sucked in his breath sharply to quell the feeling and he waved to the silver-haired teen in return with his best smile. Riku grinned back and then disappeared into the crowd to find his terminal.

* * *

THE END

* * *

**[1]** "Yes, she's good. I can tell," **Pirated from the movie **_**Lilo and Stitch.**_

**[2] **It was a huge, monstrous creature with a dog's body and a grotesque man's head _and it was closer_. **Does anyone know this story? About a monstrous dog with a man's head that comes closer to you when the lightening strikes? (The original story takes place in a house, though, not in the woods.) I heard it once a long time ago and it really freaked me out and now I want to revisit that story. But the only two things I remember is the dog-man thing that approaches you in the lightening in a haunted house and this one line "**_**Hark! In the stillness I hear—**_**" from a poem found in the house.**

**Okay, so some of this chapter is kinda had a parallel/tribute/something-or-other/reference to my newest fic, _I Blame the Cat!_ Please go check it out too if you haven't already! Yes, I know, I am shameless. Also, that bit about Riku trying to get Sora to wear a dress while they do it was sort of a nod to my most recently completed fic, _A Like a Boy In Uniform_. **

**Did anyone recognize a bit of FF8 in that line Sora says? Something about "It'll be waiting for you here. So if you come here, you'll be able to find me" or around that context. Yeah, whatever I put, it's paraphrased from the opening of FF8. I didn't want to put in a note for it because I thought I edited it too much. I only played FF8 for, like, five minutes, tho. But I enjoyed those five minutes! :D**

**All right, you lot, technically this story's finished, but I've got a few extra chapters waiting for you!**

**THANK YOU, COPYCAT-CAPYCOT, FOR BETA-ING! Everyone! You should all thank her! Do it now! **

**- Reviews are appreciated.**

_**|Corrosive Moon| **_


	15. Epilogue

**Just a little ditty, I was writing this chapter while listening to **_**The Mortician's Daughter **_**by Black Veiled Brides (a band I usually listen to in my dark moods. And no, the title of this story wasn't inspired by this song, hahaha.) I thought that **_**The Mortician's Daughter **_**set the mood of this chapter very well. :) Not too a T, but it isn't bad. **

**This is a shoutout to my 200****th**** reviewer and loyal fan, _Tysonkaiexperiment_! _Tysonkaiexperiment_ also has an awesome fanfiction goin' on called **_**The 13**__**th**__** Hour.**_** Everyone! It is badass! So go read it! :D**

**Edited: August 29th, 2011. *4u was a mistake and I SWEAR that I had deleted it before saving this chapter in the document reader. Goddammit!**

* * *

_Epilogue: Letters Between Us_

The matter of staying in touch was a tragic subject for Sora and Riku. Because of the great distance, any call would be charged as a long distance call and text messages would take too long as well. Thus, the two resolved to share emails.

These are several excerpts from the many emails they sent each other, as well as a couple phone calls.

* * *

_August 23_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

How are you?

—Sora

* * *

_August 24_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

I hope you're doing well. I miss you.

—Sora

* * *

_August 25_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

How is college? Why aren't you answering my emails? I'm becoming worried.

—Sora

* * *

_August 26_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Write back within 3 days or I'm coming over there.

—Sora

* * *

_August 28_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: graverdigger666_

Sora,

BREATHE. calm down. the internet on campus went down and i couldn't get to a computer. sorry for worrying you.

i'm doing fine. i've just settled into my dorm. my roommate's an engineering major in the aviation program and deadset on becoming an airplane pilot. he's pretty cool, except that he eats in bed and he doesn't take off his shoes when he gets in. but i think that's more of my own personal peeve than anything. he also has this really crazy imagination. he keeps claiming that doll you gave me can move on its own. crazy, right?

my classes don't start til later, which is kinda neat. classes are already starting over at tt right?

i miss you too.

Riku

* * *

_August 29_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

I am breathing. I am relieved that you responded. Your roommate is rather prone to such incredulous ideas. A doll moving on its own is ludicrous.

Yes, classes have already started. Roxas, Tidus and I are lonely here by ourselves. But other than that, nothing much has changed. I still can't get used to the feeling of going home by myself. I wish I was with you.

I want to see you. When can we see each other again?

—Sora.

* * *

_August 29_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: graverdigger666_

Sora,

i think the only time we can see each other is xmas break. i know, i'm counting the days too.

Riku

* * *

_August 30_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Christmas Break? That makes me incredibly sad. But I guess there's no helping it.

Oh, and your mother wants me to tell you that you've forgotten your coat and gloves. She'll send it to you as soon as she can.

—Sora

* * *

_August 31_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

i knew i forgot something. when did you talk to my mother?

Riku

* * *

_September 1_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Yesterday. I go over to your house and sit in your room sometimes when I get really lonely. Does it bother you? I can stop if you want.

—Sora

* * *

_September 1_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

no, its fine! it's totally fine! go ahead! i'm just… really touched.

whenver i see blitzballs, i think of you.

Riku.

* * *

_September 2_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Blitzballs? Why blitzballs?

—Sora

* * *

_September 3_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

because that's how we met, remember?

Riku

* * *

_September 4_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

I'm not wearing underwear right now. I want to make sweet love to you, you sexy silver beast.

xoxo Sora

* * *

_September 5_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

...What?

* * *

_September 7_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Sorry, that was Vanitas. He's figured out how to hack my email. I've changed my password now. There shouldn't be any more problems. Sorry, again.

—Sora

* * *

_September 7_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

aww... SOra no fun :(

* * *

_September 8_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: evuldollface _

Fwd to _silverstarvoyager_ from _evuldollface_

Vanitas,

How are you doing this? And I don't understand what :( is.

Oh... it's a sad smiley. Innovative.

—Sora

P.S. Your grammar is abhorring.

* * *

_September 8_

_From: evuldollface _

_To: gravedigger666; silverstarvoyager_

howz wur my grammer abhorrin?

* * *

_September 8_

_From: gravedigger666_

_To: evuldollface_

Fwd to _silverstarvoyager_ from_ evuldollface_

Vanitas,

Did you type that badly on purpose?

—Sora

* * *

_September 10_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

is he still hacking into your email?

Riku

* * *

_September 11_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

yea its funriku. :D

* * *

_September 12_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: evuldollface _

Fwd to_ silverstarvoyager_ from _evuldollface_

Vanitas,

How do you keep doing this? I've already changed my password.

—Sora

* * *

_September 12_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: evuldollface_

Vanitas,

why am i getting these emails too?

Riku

* * *

_September 13_

_From: evuldollface _

_To: silverstarvoyager; gravedigger666_

thot it wld be mean 2leav u out of da loop, riku. :) im s0 thotful.

LOL, sora. ur such a qt, thnkn u can keep me out. ;P Im just clt. lol, jk

* * *

_September 13_

_From: gravedigger666_

_To: silverstarvoyager; evuldollface_

Vanitas,

I don't know what "lol," "qt," "clt," and "jk" stands for. Is "qt" supposed to be a derogatory term?

Please keep out of my email or I'm telling Dad.

—Sora

* * *

_September 13_

_From: evuldollface _

_To: gravedigger666; silverstarvoyager_

U dont kno txtspeek?

O_o omg, k, thats it. u rlly need 2 start livn asap. tias, ul luv it.

fine ill stay out of ur email.

ttyl, bro. bfn. lyl. ss.

* * *

_September 13_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

I don't even know what he said that last sentence. And what in the world is O_o?

—Sora

* * *

_September 14_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

omg=oh my god

rlly=really

asap=as soon as possible

tias=try it and see (i had to look this one up.)

ttyl=talk to you later.

bro=brother. (but i think you already figured that much out.)

bfn=bye for now

lyl=love you lots (I had to look this one up too.)

O_o is a comical facial expression. Like uh, it's like freakingout/surprised/oh-my-god kind of thing.

Riku

* * *

_September 15_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

That is so... intriguing. It's like a completely different language.

—Sora.

* * *

_September 16_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

hahaha, yeah. so been up to anything lately?

Riku

* * *

_September 17_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Nothing much apart from school work and the usual things. I'm planning on buying this really nice coffin for Yersinia. Gougie is doing well. Tidus is captain of the blitzball team and he's doing great. The team's winning and everything. He's gotten really popular. Roxas joined the drama club. (I'm guessing it has something to do with missing Axel.) Roxas isn't not too bad on stage, actually.

Dad says he's going to get me a car soon. I hope he's going to get me one for Christmas. Dad and Roxas' dad's dates are going really well, all things considered. But Dad keeps—how can I say this?—hiding parts of himself from Roxas' dad. I don't like it because how can Dr. Strife truly like Dad if he doesn't know all of him? But the future looks hopeful.

Well anyway, how have you been doing?

—Sora

* * *

_September 18_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

i'm fine. classes started a few weeks ago and they're so boring. it's good to hear that everyone's doing all right. awesome about the car! i really hope your dad gets you one.

oh, and that knife you gave me got confiscated.

Riku

* * *

_September 18_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

What do you mean? Like, it was taken away?

—Sora

* * *

_September 19_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

yea, my dorm leader took it. apparently they sort of thought it was kind of lethal. :/ (turn your head to the left to see the smiley.) it sucks. i don't think they're going to give it back. i really liked it.

Riku

* * *

_September 22_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

today my dorm leader suddenly came up to my dormroom and handed back my assassin's creed knife. he said he was really sorry and starting murmuring something about killer dolls. he also took one look at that doll you made for me and totally ran for it. you didn't have anything to do with that, did you?

Riku

* * *

_September 22_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Of course not.

—Sora

* * *

_September 30_

It was only on rare occasions did Riku and Sora call each other due to the high price of long-distance phone calls, but once in a while they would miss each other too much and throw caution into the wind.

"Hey, Riku?" Sora asked one day when Riku called. The brunette sat in his room, his legs crossed and a juice box in his hand.

_"Mm-hm?"_ the silver-haired teen responded.

"Vanitas suggested that we should participate in something called 'phone sex.' I'm confused as to how we can accomplish sexual intercourse over a phone line."

Over the phone, Sora heard something clatter in the distance. The brunette thought it might have been his boyfriend's pencil. Riku mentioned something about doing homework.

_"It's..."_ Riku began. _"It's kinda like talking dirty but over the phone."_

"And... that's supposed to be sexually gratifying?"

"Yeah, if you do it right," Vanitas said, lacing his fingers behind the back of his head and grinning.

Riku suddenly became very quiet. _"Sora..."_ he said slowly, _"please tell me that wasn't Vanitas I just heard."_

"But then I would be lying," Sora said, confused. "Vanitas has been dropping by to check up on me a lot."

"Like a good brother!" Vanitas whispered.

"Like a good brother," the brunette echoed into the phone receiver.

"Good, now say that you totally want him right now," Vanitas instructed.

Riku was both thankful and loathed that he had great hearing. _"Sora, give the phone to Vanitas,"_ he said, evenly. Although it was spoken cordially, Sora could clearly hear a hard, strained note in his voice.

"Huh? Why?"

_"Just give it to him. Please. And you should step out of the room for a bit."_

"Um, all right," Sora handed it to Vanitas. "Riku wants to talk to you," he said. "I'll be outside." The mortician's son shut the door behind him.

The ebony-haired man raised a brow and took the phone. "Hellooooo-ooooo?" he sang.

_"WHAT KIND OF IRRESPONSIBLE BASTARD ARE YOU?_!_"_ Riku bellowed so loudly Vanitas jumped and held the speaker a foot from his ear. _"ALLOWING YOUR BROTHER TO PARTICIPATE IN PHONE SEX WHILE YOU WATCH?_!_ YOU SICK, PRETENTIOUS, VOYEURISTIC, DRUG-TAKING __**FREAK**__!_!_ IF YOU PUT ANYMORE WEIRD IDEAS INTO HIS HEAD I SWEAR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND __**SLICE YOUR DICK OFF MYSELF!**__ DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME, YOU ASSHOLE?_!_"_

Vanitas stared at the phone, impressed and shocked. The silver-haired teen had a backbone after all. He wondered if Sora knew that his boyfriend had such an explosive personality.

_"You can give the phone back to Sora now,"_ Riku said gruffly.

Actually, the ebony-haired man wanted to talk more about this evident anger issue Riku had, but he didn't want to push his limits (plus he was incredibly fond of his penis and didn't wish to have it lobbed off.)

Sora knocked on the door. "Can I come back in?" he asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas said.

The brunette stepped back into his room, a tight smile on his face to keep himself from laughing out loud. "He really chewed you out, didn't he?" he asked.

* * *

_October 15 _

_From: evuldollface _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

wassup? jus chekn on u. j2lyk, if you dare cheat on Sora I swear to God I will put strychnine in your food and watch you die.

kthnxbai! :D

* * *

_October 31_

At around four o' clock in the afternoon, Riku snatched his phone up the moment he heard Sora's ringtone sound in his room.

_"Hello, Riku,"_ the brunette's familiar voice rang smoothly in the silver-haired teen's ears.

"Hey Sora!" Riku replied happily. "It's nice to hear your voice again."

_"Yours too. Happy Halloween."_

"Happy Halloween. What are you doing to celebrate?"

_"Oh, dark little things I can't say. You know that, Riku."_ The college student pictured Sora's dark, slit-like grin. He smiled a small smile of his own. Oh, how he missed him.

"Is it all right for you to be calling me? You're usually so busy you don't even come to school, right?" Riku asked, a bit worried.

_"I can spare you a call, at least,"_ Sora insisted. In the background, Riku heard—for one split second—a short scream.

"What was that?" The silver-haired teen queried.

_"What was what?"_ The brunette replied cordially, though the rustling noise accompanying his reply was rather suspicious.

"That noise."

_"What noise?"_

"The one—actually, nevermind. I don't want to know."

A pause. _"So what are you doing tonight, Riku?" _Sora asked.

"Hmm, there's this party on campus that sounds interesting. Food, bobbing for apples, haunted house... stuff like that."

"And booze and body shots!" Peter whooped from his bed. "Whoot for underage drinking!"

"Shh!" Riku hissed, cupping his hand over the receiver. Sora heard the noise anyway.

_"Riku, who is that?"_ The brunette asked.

"Oh, that's just my roommate," the silver-haired teen explained quickly as he shot the redhead a dark glare and shuffled out of the room. "Honestly, he's such a kid. I swear it's like he never grew up."

_"He sounds like a refreshing person. But onto more interesting matters, what's a body shot?"_

Riku's cheeks turned red. "Um, it's—uh... Okay..." Involuntarily, Riku found himself completely mesmerized by a very vivid image of doing a body shot on Sora. His tongue tingled in anticipation of how the brunette's taut stomach would taste with that margarita salt. And he was certain he could coax Sora into holding a lemon wedge in his mouth. Maybe he'd tickle the brunette's navel a bit as he came up, just to watch him squirm a bit. Sora would be so cute...

_"...ku? Riku?"_

The silver-haired teen shook his head. "Huh? What? Did you say something?"

_"I was asking you what a body shot was."_

"You know, words really do it no justice," Riku said, taking pains to keep the sly grin from his voice. "How 'bout when I come back, I'll show you."

Good Lord, college life really _was_ starting to get to him.

* * *

_November 3_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

I've received your pictures from the Halloween party. It looks... absolutely insane. College parties look fantastic, but Yersinia advises me to be careful; apparently they can get out of control. But it was great to see my uncle enjoying himself. He hardly gets out.

—Sora

P.S. Axel visited Twilight Town on Halloween to celebrate with Roxas, Tidus and myself. He says hi.

* * *

_November 4_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

wait... your UNCLE? you have an uncle that goes to nu?

Riku

oh! and ps: how was your Halloween?

p.p.s: wow, i haven't seen ax in ages...

* * *

_November 4_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Not exactly. He's an English professor. His name's Vincent Valentine. Why? Do you know him?

My Halloween was fine. Thank you for asking.

—Sora

* * *

_November 5_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

professor Valentine is your UNCLE?_!_?_!_ why didn't you tell me?_!_!

Riku

* * *

_November 5_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Please don't get upset! I didn't know he taught there! Dad just told me he was an English professor and that was all. Please believe me. I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.

—Sora

* * *

_November 6_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

no, I'M sorry. i didn't mean to make it seem like i was yelling at you. i was just really REALLY surprised. this explains so much. professor valentine seemed really interested in you. like he kept asking about you and everything. (i thought it was creepy at first, but now I know why.) and he also kept watching out for me. i mean, it was kinda nice, but you know it was real weird becuz i couldn't figure out his motive and stuff.

Do you want me to say hi for you?

Riku

* * *

_November 6_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Yes, that would be great. I haven't seen him in such a long time. How is he?

—Sora

* * *

_November 7_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

prof valentine's doing fine. um, he's really... quiet for an english teacher. he doesn't seem to like sunlight too much (all his classes are night classes and we never see him in the day) and he's really pale. is that normal for him?

by the way, he doesn't seem to own a car and I heard that he doesn't live on campus. how does he get around? neverland's full of all sorts of weirdos, it doesn't seem safe for him to walk everywhere.

Riku

* * *

_November 8_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Yes, Uncle Vincent is naturally that ashen-faced. It's fine. He likes to avoid sunlight a lot. It's a special condition of his.

Oh, Uncle Vincent has no problem with transport. He flies everywhere.

—Sora

* * *

_November 8_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

...oh. you mean like he... he has the ability to levitate off the ground and zoom through the air like superman?

Riku

* * *

_November 8_

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Yes. You haven't seen him? He's not very discreet about it, much to the dismay of the rest of my family but Uncle Vincent has no patience for cars. Perhaps it's too dark out. Maybe you can't see.

—Sora

* * *

_November 18_

Sora smiled as his phone rang. He picked it up.

"Hello, Riku," he said.

_"Happy birthday,"_ the silver-haired teen replied.

The brunnete's grin widened. "Thank you, Riku. How are you?"

_"I'm great. What about you?"_

"Well, I'm eighteen..." the brunette said offhandedly. "I don't feel any different."

_"Well, did you do anything that eighteen-year-olds can do?"_

"You mean like legally buy pornography?" Sora frowned.

Riku laughed. The brunette shivered pleasantly at the sound, his ears tingled.

_"Tell you what,"_ Riku said. _"When I come back, I'll take you out clubbing."_

"Clubbing?"

_"Dancing,"_ the silver-haired teen clarified.

"You can dance? Since when?"

_"My roommate's been teaching me. It's going to blow your mind,"_ Riku said slyly. The mortician's son chuckled.

"Wait," Sora began. "Does that mean that you've gone clubbing before, Riku?" he asked, a little crestfallen.

_"Of course I haven't. I'm saving the first dance for you."_

The brunette smiled. "I miss you..." Sora murmured, holding the phone close to his ear.

_"I miss you, too,"_ Riku replied mournfully. _"I wish I could go celebrate your birthday with you, but I'm completely swamped with projects and papers over here. It's a mad house."_

"I understand..."

The silver-haired teen could still hear a sorrowful note in the mortician's son's voice. _"...Did you get my present?"_ he asked.

"What pres—?"

"Sora!" Leon shouted as he burst through the trapdoor in his room, a very large box in his hands. "This arrived for you today. It's from Riku."

"Thanks, Dad!" Sora replied, taking the present from him. His father beamed and disappeared back into the darkness to give his son some privacy.

"What is it?" he asked Riku.

The college student laughed. _"Open it and see," _he said.

Sora tore through the wrapping paper and was very, very, _very_ close to squealing with joy when he saw his present.

It was an Xbox 360. Along with several games with very promising gory covers.

_"...so, do you like it?"_ Riku asked, anxious when the line became silent.

Nothing.

_"...Sora?"_

Still nothing.

_"...Sora, are you there?"_

"Yes, I am here..." Sora finally responded dreamily. "Riku, thank you. This... this is amazing!"

Riku grinned. _"I'm glad."_

* * *

_November 20 _

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

Last night, Vanitas took me to a club to get alcoholic beverages. (I told him I could wait until I was twenty-one, but Vanitas said there's nothing wrong with being impatient.) We got in right away because Vanitas says he "has connections." I'm not sure what that means exactly... Anyway, Vanitas knows a lot about alcohol. I think he mentioned in passing that he was a bartender. I found out I liked Smirnoff (I hope I'm spelling it right) vodka, and we got banned from the bar because Vanitas started a fight.

—Sora

* * *

_November 20 _

_From: silverstarvoygaer _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

hahaha, wow. why did he get into a fight?

Riku

* * *

_November 21 _

_From: gravedigger666 _

_To: silverstarvoyager_

Riku,

A male stranger touched me inappropriately so Vanitas broke his wrist. And possibly his jaw too.

—Sora

* * *

_November 29_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

happy belated thanksgiving. i hope you got my card. sorry i haven't been writing lately. the teachers have been keeping us busy with essays, tests, and tons of homework. don't worry, i think about you often. a lot, actually. hahaha. my roommate's getting annoyed because apparently i keep saying your name in my sleep. i guess that's too bad for him.

final exams are coming up and unfortunately i can't write to you for a while because i need to study. sorry.

i'll write to you as soon as i finish my finals.

Riku

* * *

_December 11_

_From: silverstarvoyager _

_To: gravedigger666_

Sora,

if you're reading this, that means i've finished my exams and i'm coming back to you. i can't wait to see you again.

i know that you kinda have that nosebleed thing, so i'm telling you in advance. when i see you, you won't hear me say hi...

...because i'm totally gonna kiss the life out of you. prepare yourself, Sora. we're going to go clubbing, i will rock your world with my killer dance moves, despite alcohol restrictions i will show you what a body shot is, and I am going to give you 5 months worth of loving. You can count on that.

i'll see you soon.

Riku

p.s. i'm bringing a cage for Gougie. we're going to need it.

* * *

**I hope you all figured out that Riku's roommate was Peter Pan and yes, Vincent Valentine is a vampire. **

**And that's the ending of the RikuXSora arc, everyone. The rest of the chapters are going to be extra chapters that do nothing to further the plot and give background information 'n stuff. Yay! **

**I encourage all of you to please stick around and read them! I'm going to be punching them out pretty quickly (in relation to my usual updating speed, that is.) **

**One last roar for **_**copycat-capycot**_**, my awesome beta with infinite patience and badass grammar skills! **

**Rock on, y'all. **

_**|Corrosive Moon| **_


	16. Extra Chapter 1

**WARNING: I am TOTALLY fucking up Final Fantasy. I'm telling you all this up front because I want to prepare you: Zack Fair (from FF7) is Sora (and Vanitas') father. And Rinoa Heartilly (from FF8) is Sora's mother. I encourage you all not to skip their little lovestory because it sheds light on a couple things (just a couple), but I understand if you do. It's okay. **

**HOWEVER, please don't skip the next chapter! It's a nice, touching father-son story about Leon and Sora. Well, I **_**hope**_** it's a nice, touching father-son story about Leon and Sora. I think it is, and I hope my writing isn't atrocious enough to ruin it. **

**I decided to post these two chapters together because I was afraid that this chapter would be too boring for those who aren't too crazy about me pairing across Final Fantasy universes. In all honesty, these are almost just crack pairings I put together because of hair color, and I apologize. I should have made Leon Sora's biological father. It would have been less trouble. Why the hell dfid I do that anyway? Oh yeah, because I wanted Leon to be gay and not bisexual and Sora needed a biological father to be, well, born. Curses!**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.**

* * *

_Extra Chapter 1: Mother and Father_

"I already said no!" Rinoa Heartilly, a seventeen-year-old brunette, said firmly. "I'm sorry, but I don't like you."

"But Rinoa—" Rude insisted.

"Excuse me, Rinoa," came a creepy voice from the shadows. The lights flickered once and Squall "Leon" Leonhart, another seventeen-year-old brunet, appeared out of nowhere behind Rude.

"Is he bothering you?" Leon's eyes flitted to the classmate in question.

Rude immediately paled. He had heard of Squall Leonhart. There were hushed, terrified whispers of what he could do. All those who bothered him ended up traumatized for life or hospitalized due to some "freak accident." None of these victims ever spoke of any link to the creepy teen, but the rest of the Twilight Town High School student body just knew he had something to do with it. As a general, unspoken rule: don't make Squall "Leon" Leonhart angry.

"U-uh, I was j-j-just leaving!" Rude stuttered and took off running.

Leon tilted his head sideways. "Curious," he commented on his classmate's behavior. "I don't believe I had done anything."

Rinoa giggled. "Leon, what are you doing?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Ah, I've just gone to acquire some wires from the physics classroom," Leon said. "I've recently rediscovered my interest in _Frakenstein_ and have begun to wonder how well electricity reanimates the body after death. I'm planning to test my theory on several recently deceased cats."

The girl nodded. "Sounds interesting!" she smiled. They began to walk aimlessly, chatting.

"Speaking of interesting, Rinoa, that knife you ordered arrived around lunchtime today. My mother informed me," Leon said.

"OH!" Rinoa jumped excitedly. "You mean that Kershaw Skyline Damascus blade?"

He nodded.

"Great!" She continued on with a skip in her step.

The male brunet kept pace with her. "Have you made anything interesting since last week, Rinoa?"

"Oh, yes! I did!" Her hand delved into her sewing basket, which she kept with her at all times.

"Ta-dah!" the long-haired girl said triumphantly as she pulled out a misshapen doll. It had four long legs, a long neck, a large head, and what looked like a tail.

"…Is it a horse?" Leon asked.

"No, it's a dog!" Rinoa said adamantly. "See? Look at the tail!"

He did. It looked nothing like a dog.

The thought must have been reflected in his face because the girl let out a haughty "humph!" and stuffed the malformed dog in the basket. "It looks better this way!" she argued.

Leon smiled. "If you say so."

* * *

"_Don't you ever laugh as a hearse goes by_,**[1]**_"_ Rinoa sang as she sat underneath the oak tree on school grounds.

"_For you may be the next to die._  
_They'll wrap you up in a big white sheet.  
From your head down to your feet."_

She fished out her dog from her basket and frowned at it. "Well, _I_ think you look like a dog," she murmured to it.

"Rinoa!" Ventus said, appearing behind her. The teen didn't even flinch at the sudden intrusion; she was used to them already.

"Good afternoon, Ventus," Rinoa said as the ghost drifted to her side. "Is Squall almost done?"

"Yup!" Ventus announced proudly. "Four cats! They look heavy though. I think he might need some help."

"I keep telling him not to take so much," she sighed. "Mr. Duffield is bound to notice sooner or later."

"Eh, he's fine," Ventus said, lacing his fingers behind his head. He glanced at the doll in Rinoa's hands.

"By the way, Rinoa, what's wrong with that horse?" the ghost questioned.

"It's not a horse, it's a dog!" the long-haired girl protested.

Ventus laughed and poked the "dog's" head lightly. "No, I think it's a horse," he said definitively.

"It's a dog, I tell you!"

"Horse!" Ventus singsonged, floating away from her.

Caught up in her anger, Rinoa threw the doll at him even though it was useless to hurt someone who didn't have a corporeal body. The "dog" sailed through Ventus' head…

..and right into a student standing behind him Rinoa didn't notice.

"Oh!" the long-haired girl gasped.

Ventus laughed, sticking his tongue out childishly. "Busted!" he said, and disappeared into the closest brick wall.

Rinoa stamped her foot on the ground girlishly, a loud exasperated sigh blowing past her lips. She darted forward, chasing after the ghost determined to give him a piece of her mind.

"Sorry!" she said hastily to the male student.

Zack Fair watched her leave curiously. He scratched the back of his head, and then looked at the doll at his feet. The ebony-haired teen picked it up and examined it carefully.

"You okay, Zack?" Kunsel asked, glancing at his friend's face.

"Mm-hm. Fine," the other said. "Say, that girl… was Rinoa Heartilly, right?"

* * *

Rinoa carefully handled Leon's newest creation; a perfect, six-inch rendition of a teacher, edited with blood and synthetic rubber innards portruding from a large wound in her stomach and a noose around her neck. Though Rinoa always found imitating reality perfectly a bit dull—after all, what was the point in recreating something that was already there?—she did admire her friend's skill.

The brunette girl was in her room, which was lined with many of her odd, lumpy dolls that she claimed were cats, mice, rabbits and other things. They were all lined up straight in rows of shelves, staring down at her with their shiny, mismatched button eyes. The only thing that stood out of her vast collection of strange creatures was a normal white teddy bear, the last gift her parents had given her before they passed away.

Rinoa thought of the boy she hit with her dog today, her brows furrowing as she tried to remember his name. Zeck, or something like that. Once she got the name right, Rinoa contemplated tracking Zeck down and asking him to return her doll to her. She mournfully eyed an empty spot on her shelves that she had reserved for the dog doll.

Suddenly a trap door behind her flew open and Leon clambered out. Rinoa turned to him, not the least bit surprised.

"Ah, that's where Mint had gone to," the brunet said, seeing his doll in Rinoa's hands. "Dinner is ready, Rinoa."

"All right, I'm coming," Rinoa got to her feet and followed Leon down the shaft. Even though it was so dark that the girl probably couldn't see her hand even if she held it two inches from her face, Rinoa did not mind. She had spent too many years living in the Leonhart household to even be afraid of the dark. In fact, she liked it.

* * *

_Cait Sith_ was a coffee shop owned by Leon's aunt, Lulu. Since Leon was an avid lover of his mortuary work, he was often busy apprenticing under his father and Rinoa was usually left by herself. When she was tired of being cooped up in her room, she favored hanging out at Lulu's place, where she was always welcomed and given free lattes courtesy of Lulu**. **Rinoa liked the gothic, witchy atmosphere and the company who, contrary to what most people would think, was rather hospitable. The brunette girl could sit at the café for hours, sewing her new creations and listening to the customers talk of herbs, candles, and spells gone wrong. Most were Wiccan, thought they were Wiccan, or were people who had dabbled in the craft like it was some sort of garment to be cast on and off at their fancy. But, once or twice a month, a real magic user would stroll in and murmur to Leon's aunt about the under-the-counter things she also sold. Lulu's store doubled as an underground market for witchcraft.

Today, Rinoa was at her favorite spot at _Cait Sith - _a table next to the east window - working on another dog to replace the one she had lost. The brunette didn't have any luck locating Zeck today and the vacant shelf space in her room was starting to bother her.

"Hey."

Since people normally didn't talk to her, Rinoa continued to sew.

"Hey! Rinoa, right?"

At this point, Rinoa did look up. It was that boy, the one she had hit yesterday.

"Zack Fair," the ebony-haired teen introduced himself. He looked strangely out-of-place in the gothic coffee shop for some reason. Several of the customers were looking at him oddly. "You hit me with your horse yesterday." He held up Rinoa's creation in one hand.

"It's a dog!" Rinoa insisted a little angrily as she snatched the object from his hands and stuffed it into her sewing basket.

"Oh, a dog…" Zack cleared his throat. "I… see."

Miffed, the brunette continued with her work to occupy her hands, dipping the needle in and out of fabric with new vigor. "So what do you want?" she asked. "I already said I was sorry."

"Well, actually, I was hoping you'd let me get you a cup of coffee."

Rinoa stopped her sewing and looked up at him. "Is that pick-up line?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"U-uh, well—not exactly—no," the ebony-haired teen stammered a bit before finally deciding his answer. "Just a friendly invite for a free beverage as an apology for mistaking your… dog for a horse."

The brunette hummed thoughtfully. "My friend's aunt owns this place so my drinks are free," she said finally. "But… I suppose you can get me a plate of cookies. And I want the ones shaped like humans. Oh! And I also want a knife so that I can severe the cookie's heads and eat them separately." She beamed up at him expectantly.

One of Zack's bright blue eyes bulged with in a mixture of fascination, horror, and amusement.

"Coming right up," he said.

* * *

"It sounds like he likes you," Leon said to her the next school day.

"You really think so?" Rinoa asked. She never really paid attention to the people who had showed interest in her. Most of the time, they came onto her solely based on her looks. Once they found out who her friends were (correction: _friend _because Leon was her only living friend) and what sort of topics she liked, they retreated in an instant.

"It's plausible," Leon said. "Shall I investigate him for you?" he offered.

"No, it's fine, Leon," the brunette girl said. "I can handle this myself."

* * *

"So you and Leonhart live together?" Zack asked, looking a bit perplexed. The ebony-haired teen was now a regular appearance in _Cait Sith_. Most of the time he sat at Rinoa's table and talked to her. It had become a new, pleasant routine in Rinoa's life. It was nice to have a new friend and she enjoyed Zack's company. He didn't keep his relations to her confined to the small little café, either. Zack was keen on waving to her in the school's hallways and he had installed himself into Rinoa's lunch table.

"Yes. His family and mine have always been close," Rinoa said, swiping a cookie from the plate Zack bought. "When my parents passed away they were generous enough to take me in."

"Are you and him… uh… together?" the ebony-haired teen asked slowly. "Like, _together_ together?"

Rinoa stopped chewing completely and stared at him. Zack's stomach flipped, thinking that he had stumbled upon a touchy subject when suddenly the brunette burst out laughing.

"Um, what's so funny?" Zack questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"You!" Rinoa managed through her laughter. "You're funny!" She was laughing so hard that she nearly doubled over and the other customers were starting to stare. Though, Rinoa didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

"How am I funny?" the ebony-haired teen asked, a bit insulted but also amused.

The brunette calmed down enough to give him an uninterrupted answer. "You thought Leon and I were dating. It's funny because Leon's gay."

Wait—what?

"He's into guys?" Zack asked, looking incredulous.

"Yes, that's generally what 'gay' means," Rinoa mused as she took another cookie from the dish. "Is it that surprising? I thought we were a more open-minded society nowadays."

"Oh, no it's not so surprising that he's gay than it is—uh, well… Leon doesn't look like he's that… type."

The brunette thought for a while. "I suppose he doesn't. Wait a second, are you saying that all homosexuals look the same to you?" She squinted one eye at him and watched him closely.

'Insert foot into mouth,' Zack thought, mentally face-palming himself.

"Nonono!" The ebony-haired teen waved his hands frantically. "I mean—I didn't mean that—I was…!" Zack groaned, hung his head low and combed his hands through his hair in distress.

Rinoa tilted her head to one side curiously and giggled. "Breathe," she reminded him.

Sucking in his breath and then exhaling slowly, Zack straightened himself. "No, I don't mean to say that all gay people look the same," he said, regaining his confidence with his ability to be articulate.

"That's good to hear," Rinoa said. "Now, let me ask you a question. Of course, if it's too personal, you're free to refuse to respond."

"Sure, shoot."

"Is it true you have a son?"

Zack blinked in astonishment, but he answered honestly. "Yes," he said.

The brunette seemed to have read the sincerity in his face. She looked satisfied with his answer.

"What's his name?" she continued.

"Vanitas. I call him 'Ninja,' though, 'cause he's pretty good at sneaking around for someone so small."

Rinoa giggled. "That's cute. How old is he?"

"About a year now. He's standing on his own already. It's really friggin' adorable, actually." Zack laughed quietly. "Eva's going to have to start watching him more closely 'cause he likes to climb onto things a lot. Couches, chairs, you name it! He never hurts himself while he's doing it, though. I'm thinking of enrolling him in some sort of gymnastics class. It'd be really cool if he ends up a gold medalist!"

The brunette wanted to press for more answers. Did he still love that girl, Eva? If not, then why did he stop loving her? But Zack changed the subject, and Rinoa took that as a sign that he still wanted to keep his more personal matters to himself. She decided it wasn't her place to pry if Zack wasn't offering the information.

* * *

"What are you making this time?" Zack asked, peering over the table to see what she was working on.

"A spirit vessel. It's a little doll that houses spirits," she explained. "It's for Aunt Lulu. I asked if she wanted me to make her one and she agreed. But I think it was more just to please me than anything else." She sighed.

"No way!" Zack said. "She totally wants a little…" The ebony-haired teen took this moment to consider what sort of animal the doll was. It was a round little thing with four stubby arms and three eyes. "…pig." He decided uncertainly.

"Bird." Rinoa frowned.

"And it is a _lovely_ bird," Zack followed up with a smooth overly dramatic inflection, his lip twitching.

"Thank you." The brunette girl was about to smile, and then realized she should be angry that he didn't figure out her creation.

"So… is it hard to make one of these… vessels?" The ebony-haired teen asked.

"Partially. The sewing is easy enough, but it's a bit annoying to find the right ingredients," Rinoa replied. "And sometimes these rituals go very wrong, and the spirit gets angry and attacks people. Aunt Lulu's told me all sorts of terrible stories of spirit vessels slitting their master's throats and things like that."

"Oh." Zack edged away from the doll. "That… doesn't sound too awesome."

The brunette girl smiled. "I think it sounds fantastic. How many people in the afterlife get to say that they were killed by a doll?"

The ebony-haired teen had to admit she had a point.

* * *

"Back again, I see," Lulu said to Zack as she brought their drinks.

"Yes, ma'am," Zack said politely.

The café owner glanced from the ebony-haired teen to Rinoa and smiled.

"Well, I can't wait to see your children," Lulu said finally. "They're bound to be very cute."

"Aunt Lulu!" Rinoa protested, her cheeks flaming.

* * *

"Here," Zack said, taking her hand.

Rinoa tilted her head to one side as the ebony-haired teen pulled out a Sharpie and wrote on her hand.

"My number," Zack clarified.

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason why you're writing it on my hand in semi-permanent marker?"

"So you won't forget," he answered simply.

"I have a cell phone."

"Yeah, but I don't trust you," Zack winked. "You might delete it right after you input it while I'm not looking."

"And this is your solution to that problem?" Rinoa gave him a skeptically amused look.

"Hey, at least now you can't say that you typed it in wrong! There!" He pulled his marker away and admired his work.

Giggling, Rinoa snatched the Sharpie from his hand. "Allow me return the favor," she said. With that, she scribbled her number on his forehead.

"H-hey! Wait!" Zack protested but it was too late.

"Now you can't forget mine," Rinoa said with a smug look.

"That's not fair! That's a Sharpie! You vandalized my head!" The ebony-haired teen clapped his hands over his forehead.

"You vandalized my hand," she shot back. "Relax, I've written it backwards so that way you can read it when you look in the mirror."

"Oh, that's fantastic. At least I can read it when I look in the mirror," Zack said with playful sarcasm. "So you expect me to put up with the humiliation until it disappears?"

"Look on the bright side, you won't be forgetting my number anytime soon."

"You do realize that you've written on my face, which I show to people on a daily basis. Yours is on your hand. You can hide that with a glove."

"You can wear a hat."

"I'll get hat hair!"

"Then wear a funny hat." She smiled.

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

Rinoa laughed out loud. "I'll see you at school, Zack," she said, getting up from the table.

"I'll call you later," Zack said. "You can count on that."

She giggled as she got up to leave. "Good bye," she replied.

"And I'll text you, like, every five minutes! And you can bet that I'll call you at ungodly hours of the night just to breathe heavy, too! You've no idea what sort of monster you've unleashed, Rinoa Heartilly!"

Rinoa had to place her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Giving one final wave, she was out the door. Zack crossed his arms over his chest, grinning proudly.

* * *

—_RINOAAAAAA!1! IT'S ZACK! I'M TXTING UUUUU! LOL!_

—_RINOA! RINOAAAAA! RINOAAAAA! I KNO THIS IS UR #! CUZ IT'D BE RLLY EVUL IF U WROTE A FAKE # ON MY FOREHEAD. LIKE, TOTALLY. UR TOO PRETTY TO BE THAT EVIL. I KNO IT._

—_Flattery will get you nowhere._

—_HA! u just txtd me back!_

* * *

Lately, Leon had begun to notice that Rinoa was… happier. She kept her phone with her at all times, checking for messages, giggling and answering back once in a while just to play coy. It was obvious who she was communicating with: Zack Fair.

Oddly enough, Leon wasn't as bothered as he thought he'd be. But even though Zack unintentionally took up most of Rinoa's time, the brunette girl always made sure spend time with Leon as well. Rinoa never failed to ask Leon if he could join them, but the male brunet always politely refused. Leon knew that he would be the third wheel and that would make the atmosphere awkward, which he certainly didn't want to do with Rinoa's first normal friend. He was grateful to see Rinoa so giddy, to grasp some form of normalcy despite her paranormal heritage and upbringing. Even if she didn't know it yet, Leon could tell that she liked him and Zack liked her. They'd be a cute couple.

For now, Leon would be content with his mortician's work. At least until he found someone worthy of his affections.

* * *

—_RINOAAAAA! I'M TEXTING U AGAIN! _Zack texted.

—_Zack, it's like two in the morning, _Rinoa replied.

—y_ea, and? ur awake, arent u?_

—_Yes, but it's because Leon and I are sacrificing cats._

—…_..4 reals?_

* * *

"So is it true what they say about Leon?" Zack asked one day while they were at _Cait Sith_.

Rinoa gave a long hum. "What do they say about him?" she questioned.

"Crazy things. He practices witchcraft, eats babies, and steals cats to please the Dark Lord Satan." Zack shrugged.

"That makes absolutely no sense," the brunette girl said with a huff. "Satan prefers white male goats."

The ebony-haired teen laughed. "Then what _do_ you sacrifice cats for?"

Rinoa flashed him a smile. "Have you ever heard of the Witch Maleficent?" She asked.

Zack shook his head.

"But you've probably heard of Witchday, haven't you?"

At this, the ebony-haired teen nodded. Witchday was a local holiday that was celebrated at the end of April. Many of the town's people disregarded Witchday as its roots were too old and pagan, and it wasn't as well-known as the other Holidays.

"Well," the brunette began, "the history of Witchday began with Maleficent, a witch who lived long ago and terrorized the world. But my family, the Heartillys, along with Leon's family, the Leonharts, managed to seal her away in this town on Witchday. However, even though it's been centuries, Maleficient is still a very crafty, motivated woman. Sometimes the seal loosens and she can walk the earth. The cats Leon and I take are used to keep the seal in place."

"Why cats?"

"She hates them. They're enemies of her familiar, which is a crow. Cats are also powerful creatures when intertwined with rituals concerning the undead as they have also been acknowledged as guardians of the underworld. Do you understand?"

"Not really…" Zack admitted sadly. "But it's true, isn't it?"

She beamed and nodded. "Yes."

* * *

—_ur aunts rlly in2 moving her dolls round the place. theyre in a different positn evryday._

—_Of course they're in a different position. They move._

—r_lly?_

—_Yes._

—l_ike on ther own? _

—_Yes. Aunt Lulu's dolls are spirit vessels. They can move of their own accord._

—_ive never seen them move. _

—_They're not going to do it while you're watching. It's no fun that way. Dolls are all about having fun._

* * *

"What are you doing?" Zack asked, catching her waiting at the entrance of the science hall.

"Watching out for Mr. Duffield while Leon steals his cats," Rinoa whispered back. Ventus was usually the one who served as Leon's look-out since his non-living state came with many advantages, but the ghost came and went of his own accord, so the brunette girl often had to fill in.

"Duffield, huh?" The ebony-haired teen casually leaned on the wall next to her and lookedover his shoulder. "The anatomy and physiology teacher? Tall dude with light hair?"

"The very same."

"He's coming down the hallway."

Rinoa whirled around and urgently tapped her knuckle rhythmically on Mr. Duffield's door. After anxiously tapping her foot for several moments, she opened the door a crack and peeked in.

"Leon what are you _doing?_ The teacher's coming back!" she hissed.

No response. Rinoa gave an exasperated groan.

"Go help him out," Zack said, "I'll take care of this."

"Zack, no!" the brunette girl protested.

But it was too late, Zack whipped around, stopping the teacher just as he was about to turn the corner.

"Hiya Mr. Duffield!" The ebony-haired teen said energetically.

"Mr. Fair, what are you doing here?" Vexen asked.

"Um! I came to ask you something! Yeah! Something about your, uh, homework assignment."

Meanwhile, Rinoa snuck into the room and caught sight of Leon trying to haul a large bag of formaldehyde-filled cats across the classroom.

"You're an idiot," the brunette girl grumbled in a low voice to her friend as she gripped the other end of the sack. "Six cats, Leon? Did it have to be six?"

"I apologize—" Leon began.

"You can keep your apologies," Rinoa snapped. "I'll only accept a brand new kunai knife set as compensation. And it better be at least S30V grade steel."

With Leon holding the other end, the two carried their heavy package, pausing briefly at the door to see if Zack was still diverting Vexen's attention.

"If I recall correctly, young man, you are not in my class," Vexen stated. They heard him step forward, and their hearts leaped to their chests nervously.

"Yeah, I know!" Zack said, stepping forward to block the teacher. "I take it with Ms. Brennan, but she's not in her office right now so I was wondering if you could help me, sir. I mean, since you're such an awesome, amazing, inspirational, stupendous, utterly fantastic teacher! Ms. Brennan's nice, but she's a bore. She's nowhere near as wonderful, incredible, and great as you! If I was in your class I'd be diligently taking notes and staying awake and everything! So how 'bout you help me understand DNA and RNA synthesis, sir? I'm, like, totally lost and I just _know_ that you can help me understand it!"

In the midst of Zack's excessive flattery, Rinoa and Leon managed to tow the heavy bag of cat corpses down the hall and out of sight.

* * *

—_u owe me. u SO owe me. _Zack messaged her two hours later. _uv NO idea the kind of mental torture i wnt thru 2day. duffield just went on n on bout all thes enzymes n bio crap about DNA syn. i think my brain imploded. _

—_I'm sorry, Zack, _Rinoa texted back. _Tell you what, I'll let you take me on a date._

—_rlly?_

—_No. Haha. But I'll buy you a plate of cookies next time you come by Cait Sith._

—_yayyyy… i just had a brainimploding exp n all i get is a plate of cookies._

—_Aunt Lulu's cookies are amazing. And Zack?_

—_yea?_

—_Thank you._

* * *

"Unacceptable!" Lulu ranted into the phone. "When I ordered dragon's blood incense, I _meant _to order dragon's blood incense!"

Zack, who had just come into the café, noticed that today's customers were rather subdued. Many shot careful glances at the owner and didn't dare speak above a whisper.

"What's going on?" Zack asked quietly, creeping into his usual table with Rinoa.

"Aunt Lulu order wasn't as described," the brunette girl answered simply. "It's best to leave her alone. She gets very… vengeful."

"No, apple cinnamon isn't the same thing, you incompetent nimrod!" Lulu shouted, looking scandalized. "What sort of backwoods craftwork do you think I'm doing over here?_!_" An irritated, sarcastic smile spread on her face. "Why _yes_, I _am_ a witch! And if you dare put me on hold again I swear by the powers that be—three times three be damned—I will throw at you the most hideous boil curse I can muster so fast your head will spin!"

"Yikes!" Zack whispered. "Remind me not to piss her off."

"Oh, that's nothing," Rinoa said, sawing into her cookie with a knife. "You should see _Leon _when he's in a foul mood."

* * *

It was strange how easily Zack Fair had managed to weave himself into Rinoa's life, how fast she had grown to like him. The ebony-haired teen had a light-hearted, kind personality that Rinoa couldn't help but admire. Zack never found any of the grim subjects that surrounded Rinoa off-putting. He was always so good at taking everything in stride.

"Does it ever bother you?" Rinoa asked him one afternoon. Today, they were swinging on a nearby playground Zack favored.

"Does what bother me?" The ebony-haired teen asked.

"That you're associating with a strange girl?"

"Oh please," Zack said dismissively as he stretched his legs out. "I have a one-year-old son; you think I'm a stranger to people talking behind my back?"

"How is he? Vanitas?" Rinoa asked, genuinely curious.

"Doin' good. Oh! He started to talk! He's so cute!" The ebony-haired teen placed his fists on his hips proudly. "Eva's angry because he said 'Dada' first and not 'Mama' like she wanted." He laughed.

The brunette nodded carefully and glanced down without another word. Despite her silence, Zack could read her.

"You wanna know about him and Eva, don't you?" he quiered.

"I do," Rinoa admitted. "But I thought it would be impolite to ask."

The ebony-haired teen placed his hands together in front of him and sighed. "I met Eva at a party sophomore year. We didn't really know each other but I sort of liked her and we hit it off pretty well. Things got crazy, we both got drunk, and…" He trailed off, glancing at her in hopes that she got his insinuation. Rinoa nodded to show she understood.

Zack continued. "She came up to me three weeks later saying she was pregnant. I knew that the un-jerk thing to do was help her through this and take my responsibility as her baby's father. I went with her to her check-ups, bought any baby stuff she needed, made sure she was eating right, let her bitch at me when she was in her crazy, preggo mood swings which actually are a _lot _worse than normal girl's mood swings." Zack scratched his head tentatively. "It was a real wake-up call, telling me that being in high school also meant that I was almost an adult, and if I wanted to screw around—literally and figuratively—I had to deal with the consequences like an adult would.

"Eva left school to care for Vanitas and several months after that, her family moved to Badlands. I see Vanitas a couple times a month, bring him gifts, say hi to Eva, things like that. Sometimes I take him off Eva's hands for a couple weeks to give her a break."

"Do you still love her?" Rinoa asked before she could stop herself.

Zack tilted his head to one side thoughtfully. "I love her as a good friend," he replied finally.

* * *

—s_o u have a ghost in ur house? _Zack texted._ that's kool._

—_I suppose so, _Rinoa replied._ But Ventus can be so very aggravating sometimes. He likes to play tricks on people._

—_sounds neat. can i_ _meet him 1 day?_

—_Doubtful. Ventus' tricks can get out of hand sometimes. He forgets that people can die from things like falling pianos, razor-sharp tripwire, and arsenic._

—_Wickd._

* * *

Rinoa looked up and frowned at a flyer for the Spring Dance. For a small moment, she pictured herself going to that dance in a dress Lulu had bought her long ago. Then the moment passed. All that pomp and circumstance for one night sounded so tedious. The brunette shook her head. And anyway, no one was going to ask her.

Readjusting her book bag's strap, Rinoa huffed and continued on her way. Unbeknownst to her, Zack had rounded the corner a few seconds before but he made the smart decision of saying nothing and observing. Once she was out of sight, the ebony-haired teen jogged up to the flyer Rinoa had been looking at and smiled.

* * *

"Sooo…" Zack said, announcing his presence as he eased himself to the chair. "Thinking about going to the Spring Dance?" he asked.

Rinoa lifted her head. "No," she said. "I need to help Aunt Lulu pack up that day."

"Pack up?" the ebony-haired teen repeated.

"Yes, she's moving the café to Halloweentown. It has better access to witchcraft items and there are more people who take the craft seriously."

"Oh," Zack said a bit dejectedly.

The brunette glanced at him. "What is it?" she questioned.

"Well, if…" he began and stopped. Then, gathering his words, Zack leaned forward on the table. "Say someone asks you to go with them, would you?"

Rinoa thought for a moment. "It would depend on who's asking."

"If Leon asked, would you go?"

She laughed at this. "Leon would never!" Rinoa said.

Zack laughed as well. "Yeah, you're right. That dude's _way_ to antisocial. But… hypothetically speaking…" He trailed off.

"Yes, I would go if Leon asked me. It's highly unlikely considering he's also gay, but yes."

"Well, what about me?" The ebony-haired teen grinned.

"What?" Rinoa wasn't sure if she heard him right.

Zack held his grin. "Rinoa Heartilly, will you go to the dance with me?"

The girl's eyes widened. She fell into a stunned silence as her cheeks flooded with an adorable shade of red, and then… a torrent of blood rushed out from her nose.

"HOLY CRAP!" Zack shouted, falling backwards from his chair. Several of the cafe's customers rose from their tables in shock, alarmed and confusion at the clamor.

Rinoa pinched just below the bridge of her nose with her hand. "Look whad you'd done!" she cried angrily, her speech a bit hindered by her plugged nostrils.

"What _I've_ done?" Zack said once he brought himself upright. He glanced down at the pool of blood at the brunette girl's feet.

"Yes!" Rinoa insisted, dizzy but regaining control over herself. "Why wud dyou as' me dat? I'm too weird fo' the gen'rel public."

"No, you're not."

Rinoa threw him a skeptical look.

"All right, you are," the ebony-haired teen gave in with a shrug. "But that's not _all_ you are. Yeah, you're scary, but you're also cute and fun." He smiled as he got to his feet and locked his eyes onto hers. "You see the world from a paranormally-fantastic angle, and I want to watch it with you. I like you, Rinoa. I like you a lot. Look, I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend or anything. But I'd..." Zack paused. "...I'd really like to get to know you more. We can take it as slow as you like."

The brunette girl felt the heat build up in her face once again. "I can't," she said quickly, removing her hand from her nose and replacing it with a napkin she swiped from a nearby dispenser. "Zack, I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm too strange, I'm - I'm too weird! You won't like me at all!" The brunette girl gestured frantically with her free hand.

"Well, I'm not taking no for an answer," Zack replied simply and firmly. He grinned. "I've already bought us tickets."

"You're shameless!" Rinoa said, snatching her sewing bag (which thankfully emerged from the sudden blood fountain unscathed) and making her way to the doors. She may have looked angry, but the ebony-haired teen knew her well enough by now to catch the flattered, excited glint in her eye.

"What color dress are you wearing? I hope it's blue, because I only have a blue tux!" Zack shouted over the heads of café customers. Behind the bar, Lulu was smiling.

"Fiend!" Rinoa yelled back. "Pretentious, arrogant—"

"It'll be fun! I promise!"

"—terrible, horrible brute!"

"I'll pick you up at Friday at seven!" Zack called just as Rinoa pushed open the café's doors and left.

The other occupants of the café muttered quietly as Zack looked rather happy with himself. Then Rinoa charged back in.

"You'd better!" She shouted and, dropping her gaze in embarrassment, rushed out.

* * *

**[1] **"Don't you ever… to your feet," **this is a verse from "The Hearse Song." It's a nice, macabre, sort-of-disgusting song I learned from a scary book I have.**

**Okay, so I read in Rinoa's profile that Tetsuya Nomura wanted her to be cute, so I did cute. Ta-da. Yeah, she's into knives and voodoo dolls. **

**Just so you guys know, it would be really cool of you if you reviewed this chapter too. Hahaha, but joking aside, for all of you who decided to venture into this chapter despite the warning, I can't thank you enough. I greatly appreciate it, you guys. **

**Thank you, **_**copycat-capycot**_**, my amazing beta!**

**- Onto the next chapter! **

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	17. Extra Chapter 2

**This is the second chapter of what I like to consider the prologue of _The Mortician's Son_. Enjoy. **

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

_Extra Chapter 2: Father and Son_

Leon had just finished sewing up a body when he received a call.

"Leonhart Mortician Services," the brunet answered automatically.

"Hello? I'd like to speak to Squall Leonhart, please," said a woman on the other line.

"Yes, that's me."

"Mr. Leonhart, I'm Dr. Sherry from Twilight Central Hospital." She paused. "I have some bad news about your friend, Rinoa Fair…"

Leon didn't hear anymore; he dropped the phone and rushed to the hospital. He didn't even bother to take an umbrella despite the torrents of rain. He didn't care that he was soaking wet in the hospital's lobby.

"I'm here to see Rinoa Fair," he spoke quickly to the receptionist. "I was told she was taken to the E.R."

He was directed to the E.R Nurse's Station, where a female nurse informed him that Rinoa had died just minutes ago and then, as far as Leon knew, the world became deathly quiet - silent and cold as the grave. The world seemed so far off, bustling and moving in that unearthly silence, and he seemed to have no viable connection to it. The brunet paid no mind to the nurse in front of him, who was probably expressing her condolences or going over hospital policies considering the deceased, Leon didn't know. And when the mortician finally remembered that he was, in fact, still attached to this plane, he realized he had been led into a room.

At first, an irrational side of Leon told him that it couldn't be her. Rinoa wasn't here, wrapped nearly head-to-toe in plaster and bandages, in this hateful, ugly whiteness that stank of sickness and medications and all its strange machines and wires. No, it couldn't be her. It just couldn't.

But then Leon looked longer, more carefully, and he found some familiarity in the dark brown shade of hair, in the curve of her face, even though it was marred by scratches and bruises. He felt like someone was mercilessly squeezing his heart.

The doctor, the one who phoned him, came in and talked about something Leon could only hear in bits and pieces.

"…she went into labor… the car…it must have been the rain… unfortunately, Mr. Fair died on impact…"

"The baby," Leon said suddenly, noticing that the evident bulge in Rinoa's belly wasn't there anymore. He faced the doctor. "What about her baby? What about Sora?"

Dr. Sherry bit her lip and she dropped her gaze for a second before reestablishing eye contact. "Mrs. Fair suffered massive blood loss after the accident. The baby was showing signs of distress. An emergency C-section was required to save the infant, but in Mrs. Fair's condition…" the doctor paused. "Mrs. Fair regained consciousness long enough to plead that her child be saved."

The room was spinning; Leon felt sick. Hot tears stung the back of his eyes and poured down his cheeks, he could barely contain his sobs. "The baby," he choked out, "is he…?"

"We've taken him to the NICU for observation, but he appears to be healthy."

The mortician went to NICU after that. One of the nurses directed him to Sora's clear, plastic cradle and left without glancing at the brunette woman in a patient's gown standing by the baby's bed, looking down on him. Leon felt his heart hammering hard in his chest, but he positioned himself at the other side of the cradle silently.

"I'm sorry, Leon," Rinoa said, looking up to him. Her voice was quiet, like a dying breeze. She was fading—fading out of this world by a supernatural pull she couldn't resist. Rinoa didn't have long.

"You don't have to apologize," the mortician managed to say.

"You'll take care of him, won't you?"

"Of course I will, like he was my own son." Leon nodded.

The brunette woman smiled. "Thank you." Rinoa lifted her hand and touched Sora's cheek with a resigned sigh. "I can't even feel him. How sad."

Knowing it was better to say nothing, Leon swallowed. "Zack isn't coming?" He asked several seconds later.

"He's already passed on. He didn't know how to linger longer. My poor, normal husband," she smiled sadly. "I'll have to speak for the both of us, then." Leon took several steps back to give her some privacy. These were probably the last words she could speak to her child in the living world. He wanted to be respectful.

"You will be different, I can already tell," she whispered as she leaned over Sora, "and I know that it will be hard for you, especially since Zack and I won't be around. But I know Leon will take care of you. He's a good person. I'm not worried." She lifted her gaze to the mortician for a moment before looking to her son once more.

"I just wish I could be there—really be there—when you take your first step, or laugh your first laugh," she continued. "I wish I could hear your first words and I wish I could look after you as you stumble through your adolescence, slowly, but surely, finding yourself. I wish I could watch you grow into a fine young man and fall in love. I hope she'll treat you nice. Or he—um," she fumbled. "Well, whoever it is you'll fall in love with."

Rinoa leaned back and thought of something else to say. "Please spend money wisely," she continued. "Study hard in school. Eat your vegetables. Mind your manners. Stay out of trouble. Be nice to Leon. Be nice to others, too. Love yourself. Keep your chin up. Um, practice safe sex.

"I wonder… will you be mad at me?" she asked, tracing her son's chin. She rested her weight on the cradle thoughtfully. "I hope you won't be, but I'll understand if not. If you will, then I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me."

Rinoa paused. "Um, what else? I don't have a lot of time left. Oh!" She placed her mouth to her infant's ear. "Your Daddy says he loves you bunches. But just a little secret between us, I love you lots more, my darling little boy."

She kissed Sora's cheek. "Good bye, Sora," she whispered. The baby squirmed and kicked a bit, but he didn't stir.

The brunette woman glanced up at her friend one last time and smiled. "Good bye, Leon," she said, and she slipped into the next world.

* * *

The first few months of caring for Sora were… incredibly difficult, to say the least. Leon was completely unprepared for the ungodly crying at all hours, the demanding, constant supervision, and the mountains and mountains of baby clothes, toys, food, and diapers he had to catch up on. Not to mention he had to store his knives in a baby-proof box, which proved to be a challenge because the mortician liked letting his lovely objects lie as they liked. Finally, Leon consented to moving his most dangerous items to the attic, next to a box full of Rinoa's old things, which he couldn't bear to look at.

Life was not easy. Leon had to put his business on hold as preparations had to be made to his house. Eventually, though, the mortician purchased a small rocker and set it up in the dark backroom where he did his work. With Sora babbling and cooing away, the brunet lifted his scalpel and inspected the corpse's neck. He easily figured where the jugular vein was and cut into it. He only vaguely wondered about the psychological effects it could have on his son—the mortician figured he might as well consider Sora his son—but Sora needed to be watched as no babysitter would set foot into his house, Leon didn't trust anyone with Sora anyway, and he had bills to pay. The mortician continued as he would normally do, trying his damndest to disregard Sora's presence. He let the blood drain into the buckets, twirling the scalpel idly around his finger. He glanced at Sora.

The baby was staring at him intently; eyes unblinking. Leon stared back at him. It took the mortician several seconds to realize that Sora was focused on the blood-coated knife in his hands. His curiosity piqued, Leon waved the blade a bit. Sora smiled and cooed happily, his little feet kicking. A small smile grew on the mortician's face and he took a step towards the baby, circling the knife in the air with his hand. Sora's blue eyes followed the metal perfectly.

Leon crouched down next to him, tickling the baby's round, plump tummy with a gentle finger.

"So you like knives, huh?" he asked.

Sora replied with some cheerful baby babble.

The brunet chuckled. "You know, your mom liked knives, too," he murmured.

The four-month-old stretched out his petite hands, reaching for the scalpel. Leon held it out of his reach, instinct telling him babies and knives was not a safe combination. Sora's face scrunched up in dissatisfaction, the color slowly changing from calm peach to angry red.

"Oh, no, no, no! Please don't cry!" Leon said uselessly. The mortician flipped the scalpel around and held the handle out to the baby, making sure to keep his other hand carefully wrapped around the blade. "Here, here!"

The red began to leave Sora's cheeks as he caught sight of his desired object. He touched the handle, exploring it with his small hands. He was smiling happily.

Leon laughed again.

* * *

At five months old, it wasn't a surprise that Sora's first words were something like "ife, ife!" which could be interpreted as a childish way of saying "knife."

Knowing better than to give Sora a real knife, and given that he was at the stage when infants stuck things into their mouths, Leon gave Sora plastic knives instead. Though, the baby sometimes disliked these unless they were very accurate renditions of the object. Sora wanted the real thing.

* * *

Ventus tipped Sora backwards in his crib, laughing a bit as the infant squirmed and tried to sit back up again. The mortician glared at him.

"Oh, loosen up, Leon!" the ghost said. "He's fine."

Ventus dropped by his house more frequently to observe Leon and his fatherly duties. Though he considered life in the Leonhart residence as some sort of TV drama for his amusement, he kept an eye on Sora, ensuring the baby wouldn't jam any lethal weapons into his mouth or calling Leon when he was crawling into areas he wasn't supposed to, like under the bed. Sora liked to crawl under there, which would be fine and dandy, except that the brunet kept his knives beneath his bed. Leon wondered if _that_ was the reason why Sora loved to explore there.

The blonde ghost waved Sora's favorite toy knife in front of him. "You know what?" he said. "I think he can see me."

Leon glanced up from his paperwork. "What makes you say that?"

"Because he's following my face and not the knife."

The mortician stood up from his chair and crouched next to the ghost at his son's cradle. They had figured that Sora, bearing only half of supernaturally-aware blood, had also a fifty-fifty chance of being normal.

The blonde raised his free hand and wiggled his fingers. "Sora, Sora…" he called. "Look at my hand, Sora."

Sora's royal blue eyes focused on Ventus' hand.

Leon blinked. The ghost laughed. "Well, whaddaya know?" Ventus said.

* * *

At the tender age of one, little Sora Leonhart was already helping his Dad with his mortician's work. The toddler knew all the equipment by heart and was able to hand Leon any item he needed within his reach.

For the most part, the mortician kept Sora in a baby carrier strapped in his front, explaining the ins and outs of morbid biology and mortuary matters. The one-year-old quietly took in all the information his father gave him with eager, bright eyes.

"Look, Sora, this is the small intestine, see?" Leon held up the organ. Sora, hands protected with gloves too big for him, reached out and touched it with enthusiasm.

"Now which intestine is the longest? The big intestine or the small intestine?"

Sora immediately pointed to the small intestine in the mortician's hands.

"Good. Now at normal room temperature, how long does it take for blood to dry?"

"Thir-teee…" his son said awkwardly, kicking his feet.

"Thirty minutes! Very good!" Leon said happily. "Scalpel."

Sora's hand snapped to the scalpel and held it up in front of his father's face.

"Thank you, son."

* * *

"And what's this one?" Leon asked, holding up an index card with a particular magic circle on it.

"The circle of Mercury," three-year-old Sora answered, sipping his milk.

They were at the table, playing a small game of flashcards. Except that instead of numbers or letters, Leon was teaching his son the basic magic circles of witchcraft.

"Good, good," the mortician praised. "Look here, Sora! Look!" He called his son's attention as Sora became fascinated with a spider crawling up the table's leg. "Now what's this one?"

His son glanced at it only for a second. "Solomon circle with triangle variation," he said briskly before turning his attention to the insect once more.

* * *

"Son, why do I still see broccoli on your plate?" Leon asked.

"I don't like it," five-year-old Sora replied, petulantly crossing his arms.

"Eat your broccoli."

"It looks gross!"

The mortician rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Sora, of all things you would think would be disgusting to eat…"

His son remained firm, his determined eyes fixed on Leon's. "I don't want to eat it."

"It'll make you grow taller."

"What if I don't want to be taller?"

"Sora, just eat it."

"No!"

"You are eating your broccoli!"

"NO!"

* * *

"Dad, am I a freak?" Sora asked, kicking his feet a little as he sat on the large red cooler named "Extras."

Leon's hand, which happened to be slicing into a jugular vein of a corpse at that time, jerked sharply and the mortician ended up splitting the body's cricoid cartilage in two. Putting aside that problem, Leon turned to his son.

"Where did you hear that, Sora?" he asked, he was certain that he had never addressed his son in such a manner.

"The other kids say it when they think I'm not listening," the small brunet said.

'_Fuckers…' _Leon thought darkly. He was going to pay a visit to those children. In the dead of night. With a knife. And a hammer. And a potato peeler.

The mortician placed his tools aside and placed his hands on his son's shoulders. "You're not a freak," he said. "People use that word when they're being ignorant towards other people they don't understand."

"So is it okay to kill them?"

"No, no, no, it's not okay to kill them, Sora. Though it would be dramatically effective and thoroughly satisfying, it won't be nearly as fun as keeping them alive," Leon said, smiling as he raised an index finger. "Besides, we don't want to do all that yucky cleanup afterwards, do we?"

Sora's lower lip jutted out—he had really hoped his father would allow him to kill all those hateful children—but he nodded. "I guess."

Leon ruffled his son's hair playfully. "How 'bout this?" he asked. "You remember that spell I just taught you?"

"The one about the spiders?"

"Yup! I think now would be a good time to use it, don't you think?"

The petite brunet's eyes lit up immediately, and a thin, dark, creepy smile crept onto his features. He nodded again.

"Well, off you go, then!" Leon said. "Be sure to recount your results to me, Sora!"

"I will, Dad! Thanks!" Sora skipped off, humming a dirge.

It will be noted that the very next day, half of Sora's classmates suddenly suffered from several unfortunate poisonous spider bites that, luckily, did not kill them. Though, three students never regained full sensation of three fingertips and another six had several ugly scars to broadcast their horrific ordeal.

On another positive note: No one dared to speak badly of Sora ever again.

* * *

For a long while now, Leon had been making these homemade hamburgers from a recipe he found on the Internet. He made them every other Friday and on special occasions. Sora loved them.

Leon didn't tell his son that he'd been adding mashed broccoli into the patty mix.

* * *

Six-year-old Sora woke to music in the middle of the night. Normally, he would have fallen back asleep but tonight he felt curious as to what was happening outside. He opened the window to his room and saw a small demon dancing around his tree. It had the appearance of an ugly pig and was walking upright, squealing and grunting a tune Sora couldn't recognize. The brunet had never seen a demon up close before, and he leaped out of his two story window and landed on the grass to talk to it.

"Good evening," the six-year-old said.

The demon looked at him for a moment, snatched his wrist and then continued on.

"Hey! Hey, wait a second!" he said, a little fearfully. Sora remembered his father saying something about not going outside tonight. He tried to pry his wrist from the thing's grasp but it was too strong. The pig paid him no mind, singing that strange song as he dragged him along. Sora caught the scent of alcohol on the demon as he was being hauled away.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked, starting to become more curious than afraid.

The demon squealed something unintelligible. The only thing the brunet could catch was the word "party."

"Are you going to a party?" he asked, clarifying.

The demon nodded. "Hur… Gotta hurry." He suddenly began to run, walking faster and stumbling along the way. Minutes later, they came to the Hollow Bastion Cemetery. Music and chatter could already be heard even before they approached the gates. In one tremendous bound, the pig demon leaped over the closed gates with the brunet at his side. Sora stumbled when his feet hit the ground. The pig demon released him and disappeared into the crowd.

The demons were dancing about; some were like the pig demon who escorted him and others were distorted creatures Sora couldn't identify. They were all dancing in a tribal, savage fashion around a bright-green, crackling bonfire. The demons around him slowly, but surely, began to notice that he was not their kind. They advanced in a circle towards him, their malicious eyes twinkling in the dark. Was it hunger?

Sora glanced around him, nervously. A hideous, humanoid ghoul with rotting sockets for eyes, a crushed nose and a large, gaping mouth shuffled over to him.

"What's _your _name?" It asked in a quiet voice.

"Sunashi Nakahara,**[1]**" Sora said the first names that popped into his head. He knew better than to willing give a demon his real name.

In jerky movements, the ghoul's mouth warped into a ridiculously large, horrifying smile. "Tasty name. Are you tasty, too?"

It took a step forward and Sora instinctively took a step back. The demon crowd hooted, jeered and shouted, and the circle around them grew even smaller to keep the human from escaping.

"What's this?" came a voice.

The change in the atmosphere was rapidly noticeable. The demons became quiet immediately and swiftly gave way to a woman cloaked in black. Her skin was deathly pale with a sick hint of green. Her face was oval-shaped with high cheekbones and black eyes. Two horns protruded from her small head and she held a staff in one hand.

The moment Sora laid eyes on her he felt a particular, familiar, and cold feeling brush his intuition. It was the same feeling the brunet had whenever he felt Ventus lurking around. She was a ghost, too.

"Oh, a live human," the woman said, a small smile forming on her plump, pale-red lips. She walked towards Sora and bent down to speak to him. "What's your name, darling? Your real name."

Her voice was musical and soothing. In fact, all the fear and apprehension the brunet had washed away immediately when she spoke. It was… pleasant.

"Sora Leonhart," the mortician's son answered.

"Ah, Leon's boy." She smiled again. It was a pretty smile, Sora decided. She was such a nice lady.

"I'm Maleficent," she went on. "Has your father told you about me?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the brunet replied. "Briefly." He vaguely remembered Leon telling him something about her before. But he couldn't remember what exactly. That was strange, he was certain he knew before...

Maleficent still held that lovely smile. "Come, we're having a party. Why don't you join us?"

She grasped his small hand in hers. She was cold, but Sora didn't mind. Maleficent was already tugging him along as the brunet murmured, "Okay."

Sora let the woman passively lead him through the crowd of demons, who had resumed their dancing and chatter.

"What are you celebrating?" Sora asked.

"An anniversary," Maleficent answered.

"What kind of anniversary?"

She looked down at him and smiled. "A Death day. Tell me, Sora, do you know how to dance?"

"Me? No, Ma'am."

"Well, that's a very big shame coming from a fine young gentleman such as yourself. Let's dance. It'll be very fun."

Above the noise of the party, which had gradually become louder and louder, someone cried out his name.

"Sora!" It was another woman's voice. Not Maleficent's.

The call had pierced through the pleasant fog, and for a moment a wave of fear washed over Sora. But he didn't know why. Why should he feel afraid of someone like Maleficent? She was so nice. And yet… and yet there was… something… tugging at the fringes of his mind that forced him to be hesitant.

"Sora? What's wrong, my dear boy?" Maleficent asked sweetly.

"Sora!"

"Sora!" The voice came once more, warning him again. But this time, it was accompanied by a second voice, a man's voice. However, the brunet didn't recognize either of them.

"I shouldn't," Sora said, stepping back.

"Shouldn't what?" This time, the woman's smile was strained, irritated maybe. "Let's dance, Sora." Her voice was like honey again, lulling him back into that cheery haze. Everything seemed to have a dreamy, green glow. The brunet nodded.

Maleficent grasped his hand and led him into the mass of demons, who parted in their wake. They must have looked silly, with Sora about a third of the woman's size, but Maleficent guided him to the middle of the group. The demons were whirling and laughing around them in a dance unfamiliar to the human world. And soon Sora was spinning as well. Maleficent was leading him slowly; how she was managing to do it without trouble, the brunet couldn't figure. Gradually, they were moving faster, the colors began to blur together and the demons' laughter steadily grew into a tumultuous clamor. And still they continued to spin; Sora was beginning to feel sick. His chest was becoming tight and painful. He wanted to tell Maleficent to stop—no, he _needed_ to stop. Something was going to happen if they didn't. Something bad. He had to—

The colors around them were fading, the laughter grew into an unbearable decibel. Sora couldn't…

He couldn't breath.

Everything was going black. But Maleficent's face… was looking right at him, a pleased smile on her red lips. The darkness was creeping closer. Closer, closer, closer… And just before it enveloped him completely, there came one, last cry.

"SORA!"

This voice was different from the last one, but Sora recognized it.

* * *

Leon's chest was heaving. His steely eyes—blazing with murderous intent—were trained on Maleficent, his arms secured around his pale son. The mortician had intervened just in time, charging through the crowd of demons and snatching Sora from the witch's clutches before she was able to suck his final breath from him.

"You…" Leon snarled, holding Sora closer to him. His son's small body was so cold! The six-year-old was hardly breathing. "You… _bitch!_"

"Temper, temper…" Maleficent said. "I was only playing, Leon. Just a bit of fun."

"You call _this_ playing?" He almost roared.

"Calm yourself, Leon. Your son is still alive."

"Only just!"

"But still… He's alive." The witch turned away from them. "You should leave now if you're not going to stay, Leon. And watch your son more closely if you're so worried for his safety. He's such a curious little boy. All sorts of things can happen if you don't look after him properly."

Leon's eyes narrowed dangerously at the witch. His mind calculated how long it would take for him to gather the necessary ingredients and perform the ritual to tighten Maleficient's seal once more. It wouldn't take long. Not if he worked efficiently. The mortician had been half-way through the ceremony before he realized that Sora had left the house and had to go looking for him.

"If you're going to perform that petty magic rite, Leon, would you kindly give us another hour or so?" Maleficient looked over her bony shoulder and smiled. "My pets and I are so fond of parties."

* * *

For an indeterminable amount of time, Sora was floating in the darkness. He didn't know why he was there, but then, he heard the voices once more. The voices he had heard in the graveyard.

"Wake up, Sora." The woman.

"Sora! Come on, Sora! Wake up!" The man.

"You can do it!" The woman again.

Yes, that's right, Sora realized, he had to wake up. He didn't belong here. Once the brunet found that notion and gripped it tightly, he began to struggle. Sora kicked and flailed for all he was worth in the inky-black world, certain that if he thrashed hard enough he could break through. It was hard at first, like he was fighting through something akin to thick, wet cement, but the voices urged him on.

"That's it!" The woman.

"You're doing great!" The man said.

Steadily, the darkness began to recede.

And when the dark void cleared, Sora found that he was in his room... and there were two people at his bedside, watching over him. The woman had shoulder-length, cinnamon-colored hair. The man had wild, spiky raven hair. They stood side-by-side and their fingers were linked together.

Sora couldn't see their faces properly, but still... Something tugged at the back of Sora's mind, something that was sad, grateful and overjoyed all at the same time and was one short gap from a complete connection. There was something about these people that Sora knew he should have recognized. The brunet boy had figured that they were the two voices who had called out to him in the graveyard, but who were they? Why were they here? Why did they know his name? The six-year-old was certain he had never seen them before, yet… he felt so at ease in their presence. Sora was sure that he was safe as long as they were here.

The man and the woman smiled, leaned down, and planted a cold, quick kiss on each cheek.

"Good job," they said in unison.

Sleep was claiming him again. Sora's struggle through that in-between world had left him drained. Still, he tried to resist with all his might. The six-year-old was certain that the moment he shut his eyes again, he would forget about these two kind people, and he didn't want to. He _desperately_ didn't want to. Because they...

...they were...

* * *

Sora awoke feeling incredibly tired. His father was at his side, stroking his cheek.

"Sora," Leon whispered gratefully. "Good morning."

"Dad?" the six-year-old attempted to sit up but was stopped by the mortician. "What happened?"

"You sneaked out of the house tonight, Sora." Leon had meant to sound more stern, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He was too grateful that his son was alive. "Even though I told you not to."

Sora's eyes widened as he remembered. The demons. Maleficient. The deadly dance. A sharp pain seemed to penetrate right through his right eye and into the back of his skull. He groaned.

"I'm sorry," the boy murmured, ashamed. "Dad, I'm so sorry." Sora knew his current state was his fault from the beginning, and he deserved whatever punishment his father was going to lay out. Still he couldn't keep the tears from his eyes—tears of disgrace, self-loathing, and a tiny bit of fear of what his father was going to do to him. Leon was probably furious. But the mortician's smile was gentle, his arms warm as he embraced his son.

"I know," Leon said soothingly. "It's all right, Sora."

* * *

"Oh, this is a surprise, Sora! You're eating your broccoli!" Leon beamed down at his son.

"Mm-hm," the six-year-old said, sticking the vegetable with his fork apprehensively. "I guess I should learn to eat it. It's supposed to be good for me." He frowned at the broccoli. "I still think it tastes gross."

"Oh, don't worry, son," Leon said. "You know our Friday homemade burgers? I've been slipping broccoli in them for _years_ now and you've never complained once."

Sora looked like he was about to choke and dropped his fork.

* * *

"Dad, why don't I have a Mom?" Sora asked one day just as Leon was going to tuck him into bed.

The mortician paused, a knot in his stomach already forming. He knew this day would happen once Sora entered school. Of course he was going to notice that the other children had two parents. Leon sighed and glanced at his son, who was watching him expectantly.

What was he going to do? Lie to the boy?

"Sora," he began, the tone of his voice already alerting the small brunet that this was a difficult topic. "Let me start by saying that I'm not your real father…"

* * *

"Sora, what are you doing?" Leon asked as his eight-year-old son was calmly but quickly sewing a small doll. Several other dolls had already been prepared and lumped in a small pile. They were all dressed and rather well-made. Close to the doll pile was a pin cushion with a large amount of black pins, a large jar of pickle juice, and finally another jar of fire ants.

"My classmates need to be punished," Sora replied.

"Hm," the mortician nodded his head. "Well, dinner will be ready in half an hour."

"Mm-hm."

* * *

Eight-year-old Sora quickly opened the door to his father's room and walked inside. Leon barely looked up from his science article as his son climbed onto his bed and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Sora?" the mortician asked, setting his article aside immediately and holding his son close. "Sora, what's wrong?"

His son shook his head, but a small feeling of wetness on his shirt told Leon that he was crying. His fatherly instincts immediately roused.

"Did someone hurt you?" he asked, careful to keep the rage from his voice. His eyes immediately scanned for signs of abuse.

Sora shook his head. He clung harder to his father's clothes and his small shoulders began to shake. Leon ran a hand through his son's chocolate-brown hair and sighed softly. He picked up the science article and began to read out loud quietly, occasionally his hand rubbed gentle, soothing circles on Sora's back.

The mortician's son had calmed down by the time Leon finished reading. Leon desperately wanted to ask Sora what was the matter, but he bit the questions back, fighting his instinct since it was too close to that day. And he was always more careful with Sora around that particular time.

"Sora, I love you," Leon said quietly, brushing his thumb against the boy's cheek.

"I love you too, Dad," Sora replied quietly.

The eight-year-old never mentioned that today his teacher was asking the class about their birthdays. All his classmates talked about about their colorful decorations, presents, family traditions and how nice it was that all their family members would come over and celebrate.

Sora didn't mention that when his teacher asked him what he did for his birthday, he found himself too choked up to say anything.

* * *

It was easier to get to the sex talk with Sora. By the time the boy was ten he already knew the function of both gender's sexual organs and he wasn't embarrassed to speak of them. He also knew about sexually transmitted diseases and the like. Leon only had to explain to Sora that when he was older—and by older the mortician meant about eighteen, _at least_—and when he would begin to desire those things, he should act responsibly and use protection unless he was absolutely sure his partner was safe.

"And also, Sora," Leon added cheerfully, "if your partner hurts you in anyway, please tell me so that way I can damn them into an eternity of agony and screaming doom."

"Noted, Dad," his son replied.

* * *

"Dad?" Fifteen-year-old Sora spoke up during dinner.

"Yes, son?" Leon replied.

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Sure, Sora, what is it?"

The petite brunet's cheeks became a flaming red and he glanced down at his food. "…I don't like boobs and vaginas."

"Hm?"

"I… I don't… find… them attractive. They're just… they're just globs of fat and a tube to me. And I…" Sora shut his lips tight, if possible his face turned redder.

Leon titled his head to the side curiously. "Sora, are you trying to tell me you're gay?"

"…Yes, Dad." Sora breathed out the reply in a heavy sigh. He glanced up at his father, almost… fearfully.

Immediately, Leon calmed him, reaching out to ruffle his son's hair lightly. "Why are you so afraid?" he asked playfully. "I'll love you no matter what, Sora."

Following a very old, comforting habit, Sora ran up to his father and latched onto him. Leon immediately wrapped his arms around his son, patting the space between his shoulders gently.

"…Dad?"

"Yes, Sora?"

"…Can you tell me how gay sex works?"

* * *

**[1] **Sunashi Nakahara. **A boy-i-fied name of "Sunako Nakahara," who's the main character of The Wallflower, which was the inspiration for this story.**

**I thank all of you who have still decided to read these extra chapters. :) **

**Thanks to awesome and incredibly grammar-tolerant **_**copycat-capycot**_** for beta-ing! :D**

**- As always, reviews are graciously appreciated. See you all in the next two chapters. (Yes, I'm posting two chapters up again! I'm amazing! Hahaha.)**

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	18. Extra Chapter 3

_**Okay, okay, okay**_**, I'll give my props. The first part of this chapter was mostly inspired by this Glee fic my sister told me about, this Kurt/Puck where Kurt is a vampire. Now, the thing is that sometimes Kurt slips that he's actually a supernatural being so he rewrites people's memories (Kurt actually uses the verb "mindfuck") to cover himself. The fic goes on and Kurt muses for a bit on the surprising number of times he mindfucked Fin cuz Fin constantly accidentally discovers things he shouldn't. I really liked that concept, so, uh, here you go. NO, there are no vampires in here. Except one. Guess. Oh, and the mindfucks are usually kick-started by eye contact. **

**I know, I know, I'm such a sham revamping these tricks other authors use. But at least I give my credit, right? **

**Just to make sure everyone's on the same page: **_**this chapter takes place during June and continues on into the fall. **_

**Oh, and warning: a bit of Cloud OOC. **

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.  
**

* * *

_Extra Chapter 3: The Missing Notes of Dr. Cloud Strife_

* * *

_Part 1: Sticky Notes_

* * *

Cloud noticed that there was always something strange going on around Leon. He witnessed several weird incidences that the mortician firmly denied were supernatural. One dinner, a plate flew right across the room, narrowly missing the doctor's head, and Leon insisted that it was due to the wind even though they were in a closed room and there were no open windows or doors. There was also the number of times when Leon would mumble to himself, often sounding like he was threatening someone when there was not a soul to be found. The brunet, of course, denied anything when Cloud approached him on this. But the strangest and weirdest occurrences were the ones that Cloud would never remember. Ever.

And Leon hoped things would stay that way.

* * *

Squall "Leon" Leonhart loved Cloud Strife dearly, there was no mistaking that. But honestly, once the doctor had started to become a regular sight at the Leonhart household, Leon began to dread his sudden surprise visits. It wasn't that he didn't think that Cloud's radiant presence was nothing less than a divine gift from a higher power—his body molded with perfection in mind, his eyes like sapphire-turquoise gems and his hair made of the most iridescent shade of soft sunlight.

It was because Cloud Strife had an uncanny ability to attract the strange and the odd (the mortician being the biggest testimony to that fact) like some sort of paranormal catnip, as well as an eerie knack for stumbling upon things he shouldn't. Leon had resolved early on in their relationship that the blond would be shielded from all supernatural things. The brunet obsessively ensured that Cloud only saw the business portion of his house and that any strange phenomenon, killing devices, and wandering ghost, ghoul, demon and the like were removed in the doctor's company.

The task was daunting. Lately, Leon was starting to suspect it was entirely impossible. The brunet was worried that his occasional memory wipes were going to end up cracking his boyfriend's psyche.

At first, Leon felt incredibly guilty for perpetrating these interventions—well, he crudely called them "mindfucks"—on Cloud. But as time went on, the mindfucks slowly began to become necessary in their relationship. Cloud would have certainly been committed to an asylum as a raving lunatic had Leon done nothing. Actually, the mortician was surprised that Cloud had never gone to seek help before. The blond was prone to all sorts of accidents and bad luck due to the supernatural and apparently it had been going on all his life.

"I was really unlucky as a kid," Cloud said when Leon questioned him. "I tripped a lot, and the bullies never left me alone, and, uh, I had a couple life-scarring incidents. But you know what, Leon? My bad luck hasn't been as terrible since I met you!" The doctor smiled. "You must be my good luck charm then!"

Cloud had no idea.

Unfortunately, the lethality of these demon-borne mishaps was taking a turn for the worst as Leon attracted the supernatural, too. But Leon stood vigilant. Cloud was everything to him. He would protect the doctor from anything and everything that wanted to harm him.

* * *

"Leon!" Cloud called as he entered the door with his new key. There was a bit of shuffling in the mortician's office and the blond immediately went there. "Sorry I'm a little early, but…"

Cloud's sentence trailed off and he stopped halfway through the door.

Leon glanced up from the cat. The dead cat whose guts he was currently elbow-deep in. The animal was on its back, belly up and mouth hung wide open, much like how Cloud's was now. There was blood everywhere—_everywhere; _pooling at the floor and on the mortician's desk, and drawn in archaic, unsettling magic circles all over. The doctor was certain that all of it could not have come from one cat and, sure enough, there was a small pile of feline corpses lying to his boyfriend's right.

Leon cursed himself for forgetting to mind the door to his office and then cursed Sora for occupying the usual sacrifice room today, which had forced the mortician to relocate his ritual to the upper floors.

The brunet cleared his throat. "Cloud, you're… here," he stated the obvious.

"Yeah, I…" the doctor took a moment to regain his words. "I got out of work early and I thought I could surprise you. Um… what's going on?"

"Well," Leon removed his hand from the cat's insides and wiped the blood on his apron. "Everything will be all right. There's a very simple explanation for this."

The brunet immediately met Cloud's gaze. There was little resistance, as always, when he forced himself into the doctor's mind. The blond was easily taken in by the sudden pause in all his thought processes. Leon quickly thought of a cover to replace the chunk of memory he was going to rewrite: Cloud entered the house, heard Leon shout from his office to wait in the living room, sat on the aforementioned couch and waited for him. The mortician would have to relocate Cloud to the living room, though. But that was simple enough.

'And remember to knock before you enter any room in my house, Cloud,' Leon added before instigating his mindfuck.

* * *

"Leon?" Cloud called, pointing a finger to the green blood splattered on the living room's ceiling. "What is that?"

Eye contact.

Mindfuck.

* * *

"So, uh, what is this again?" Cloud asked, holding up the small, black bag tentatively. Though the doctor didn't know it, it was a hex bag. A very powerful one that Leon hoped would at least repel most demons while the mortician was away from the Cloud.

"It's a special mixture of herbs and other things. It's for protection. I do hope you'll accept it," Leon said. "It's a bit of Wicca knowledge. I worry about you and if you would consider keeping it on your person it would ease my nerves greatly. I…" the mortician wrung his hands nervously, "…I worked very hard on it." The sentence was an understatement, Leon had to search far and wide—and at one point barter one of his finest wines—to obtain all the ingredients he needed for this particular bag.

"Of course I'll keep it with me!" Cloud said enthusiastically, more than happy to receive such a thoughtful gift from his boyfriend. He tinkered with the string for a moment. "So... what's in this thing?"

"Don't!" Leon shouted, but it was too late.

Cloud held up a small bone between his thumb and index fingers, his well-trained eyes immediately recognizing what the object was. "…is this a human bone?" he asked, turning his horrified gaze to Leon.

Eye contact.

'Carry that hex bag with you always and don't ever open it again,' Leon inputted.

Mindfuck.

* * *

"If this is a bad time, I can always come back later," Cloud said as Leon escorted him into the kitchen.

"Nonsense," the brunet said. "I'm always happy to have you, Cloud. Please, have a seat."

Despite his congenial attitude, the doctor couldn't help but notice that Leon was a bit… edgy.

"Is something wrong?" Cloud asked.

"Ah, no, but you have sort of caught me in the middle of something. Excuse me while I take care of it."

"Do you need help?"

"No, I can manage. Please do not hesitate to get comfortable." Leon exited the living room swiftly before the doctor could say anything else.

Cloud strode to the refrigerator, partially because he was a little hungry but mostly because he wanted to distract himself. The blond zeroed in on a one-day-old steak in a plastic container and lifted it out of the fridge. Just as he closed the door he heard footsteps enter the kitchen again.

"Wow, that was quick!" Cloud said. He turned to face his boyfriend and paused.

There was something different about Leon, the doctor could surmise that much. As opposed to his earlier, rigid posture, the mortician seemed much more relaxed and (dare he say) playful. Leon was leaning against the counter, a small smile on his lips.

"Was it?" the brunet asked, his steely eyes on Cloud. He had only spoken two words, but Gods… His voice… It sounded the same as it usually did, Cloud was certain, but it had never made his knees so weak before, or made his eyelids flutter.

Leon's smile grew wider. He slunk away from the counter, his hips swaying in a completely mesmerizing motion. Cloud swallowed thickly before he spoke.

"Leon, are you feeling all right?" he asked. His instincts as a doctor tugged him from the carnal sensations stirring in his lower abdomen. The blond knew it wasn't normal for someone to change personalities so quickly. Cloud raised his hand to Leon's forehead to feel for his temperature.

"I'm fine," the mortician replied, snatching the blond's wrist. Then, his voice dropped to a sexy murmur. "Let's make love, Cloud."

The doctor's cheeks flushed. "Wh-what? Leon—AH!" Cloud jumped as Leon's hot hand dove between the blond legs.

"You… you're being very forward today…" Cloud said, his breath hitching as the brunet's hand moved in slow, sensual circles.

"Then you mustn't be so tempting…" Leon countered, claiming his lips.

There was something wrong. Something was very, very wrong. The doctor broke the kiss.

"No!" he gasped, attempting to push himself away from the mortician, but his arms felt limp. One of Leon's hands gripped Cloud's arm tightly and the doctor felt a flood of pleasant feelings wash over him. Suddenly he felt hot. Hot _down there_.

Leon's mouth went for his neck, nipping the soft flesh—

A foot swung out of nowhere and struck the brunet's head, knocking him off Cloud. The doctor staggered back, hands grasping the cabinets nearby to keep himself upright. He looked to his savior and was completely awestruck to find that he was rescued by… another Leon.

"L-Leon?" Cloud stammered. The doctor blinked several times, glancing from Leon-A on the floor to the fuming Leon-B.

"How dare you touch him!" Leon-B snarled, stalking towards Leon-A. "After I specifically told you not to!"

"Well, all your talk got me curious about him! And must you always react so melodramatically!_?_ You could have had a shot at a sexy, twin threesome, Leon! Now you've ruined it!" Leon-A got to his feet.

"I didn't want a threesome in the first place, Genesis!"

Leon-A—Genesis?—scoffed, scandalized. "You're such a bore…" he muttered, slipping back to his usual form, a tall, redheaded man with straight hair.

Cloud's jaw dropped. He immediately pinched himself to ensure that, yes, he wasn't dreaming. He had been seduced by some sort of shape-shifter that was on familiar terms with his boyfriend.

Genesis went on, playing up the part of the victim as he gestured wildly. "After I came all this way to see you, my dear friend, you treat me like some sort of shameless doll that has to be put away once you've played with it? Oh, the inhumanity! Oh, the sorrow! Oh, woe is me!" He leaned back and placed the back of one hand against his temple dramatically.

"Out!" Leon ordered, jabbing a finger to the kitchen doorway.

Genesis sighed and rolled his eyes as he headed out. He did, however, take care to pause in front of Cloud. "See you later, Cutie," he said, blowing the blond a kiss.

"Out of the kitchen, Genesis!" the brunet roared.

Genesis scoffed. "You should be thanking me. Now you know for sure that when he thinks of the sexiest person alive he thinks of you**[1]**." The redhead strolled away, a skip in his step. "I'm going to play with Sora!"

Leon had the impulse to bark something about leaving Sora alone, but he knew his son could take care of himself. He turned to Cloud and went to his side.

"Cloud? Are you all right?" the mortician asked.

"What—who?—How did he…? What… was that guy?" Cloud pointed a finger after Genesis as he glanced up at Leon.

"An incubus. A rather deviant one," Leon sighed. "I'm sorry you had to get involved in that."

"A what?"

"Let me take a look at you. Did he hurt you? Let me see." Placing a finger underneath the blond's chin, Leon began to raise his head.

"No!" Cloud protested. "You're going to explain this to me now!"

"Calm down, Cloud. Everything will be all right," Leon soothed.

But the doctor wouldn't be distracted. "What the hell is a incubus?" he continued. "Why is it in your house? And Leon, just what are—"

Eye contact.

Mindfuck.

* * *

"Tell me again," Cloud began. "Why can't I put my stuff in the back?"

"Because my trunk is broken," Leon replied.

While he was picking up the doctor from his work—Cloud had lent his car to a co-worker—Leon had spotted a ghoul lurking around the window of the morgue. After a failed negotiation and a brief skirmish, the ghoul was dead and the body needed to be disposed of. Unfortunately, Cloud had just exited the building just as Leon was about to get rid of the corpse and the best the brunet could do on short notice was throw the thing into his trunk.

THUNK THUNK THUNK!

"What was that?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing," Leon answered quickly. Curses, the infernal ghoul was still alive! The brunet swore quietly under his breath. In his haste, he must have forgotten to check if the monster was truly deceased.

THUNK THUNK-THUNK THUNK-THUNK!

"Okay, I _know_ I heard something," the blond said, turning his head to the back. "I think you should stop the car."

"No, we should keep going. It's probably nothing serious," the mortician said in a stress-mangled version of his normal, cordial voice. Cloud, naturally, caught onto his boyfriend's anxiousness.

"Is there… something in the trunk?" the doctor asked.

Leon cursed the blond's analytical skills.

"No," the brunet answered.

"You're hiding something."

"No, I'm not."

THUNK THUNK!

"All right, Leon, stop the car," Cloud said. "What's in the back?"

"Nothing."

"Leon—"

Suddenly, the mortician's trunk burst open and a ghoul—still in the guise of a human with a half-decapitated head—climbed out and, howling and screaming, ran down the street.

"What the hell is that!_?_" Cloud shouted as Leon slid out of the car, pulled a knife out of nowhere and threw it sideways, effectively slicing the last bit of vertebrae, muscle, and skin keeping the ghoul's head to its body. The separate pieces fell with a sickening, wet thud on the floor.

"OH MY GOD!" the doctor shouted as he placed a hand over his mouth. "You—you—!" Cloud looked to Leon. "You killed him! You really just—"

"Cloud…" Leon was more than experienced with handling a panicked boyfriend after their extensive dating history. "Cloud, you just need to calm down. Breathe. Everything will be all right."

"How can you tell me to breathe when I just witnessed you going evil, badass Sam on another person!"

"It's not a person, it's a…" The brunet cocked his head to one side. "You watch _Supernatural_?"

Cloud's cheeks flushed red and he averted his gaze. "If you recognized the reference, you must watch it too!" he reasoned. After a moment, the blond turned to Leon once more. "All right, explain to me why I shouldn't call the police right now—"

Eye contact.

Mindfuck.

* * *

Cloud had stopped by to drop off another healthy cake for Leon. He was slicing out a piece, humming a soft tune to himself, when something crashed into his side. He fell face-down on the Leonhart's marble kitchen floor with the wind knocked out of him.

"Wh-what the—?" The doctor immediately thrashed about, trying to get whatever it was off of him. Moments later, he recognized it was Sora, Leon's son, and before Cloud could even utter the petite brunet's name he caught sight of a horrific creature perching on the chair he had been sitting in. It was a mouse—no, it was a rat. A huge, monstrous rat holding a knife in its paws. How it managed to do that, Cloud couldn't fathom. It was a hideous-looking thing, hissing and spitting with its yellow eyes focused on him. There was a multitude of cuts, old and new alike, on its dirty, brown body.

Sora released the blond's waist and placed himself between the creature and Cloud, arms outstretched.

"Jack!" the mortician's son warned. "Down, Jack! Down!"

What the hell was he doing? Did he think he could reason with it?

"Sora, what are you doing? Get away—" Cloud began but was rudely shushed by Sora.

The brunet narrowed his eyes dangerously at the rat. "Jack the Ripper—"

'Oh, of course, the thing's named after a famous serial killer…' Cloud thought bitterly to himself.

"—you sit right now. Sit." Sora jabbed a finger towards the ground. The situation was so ludicrous the doctor would have burst into peels of laughter if he wasn't so frightened. Here he was in his boyfriend's kitchen, with a dangerous rat monster holding a knife and his boyfriend's son talking to said rat monster like it was some sort of pet!

But much to his incredulous surprise, the rat curled into itself and looked incredibly guilty. It hopped onto the chair seat and was noticeably less threatening.

"Good. Now, drop the knife."

It hissed again. Cloud scrambled backwards.

"_Drop it_. Right now." Sora placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward seriously.

The rat did so. The mortician's son scooped the rodent into his arms.

"Oh, that's a good Jack!" he praised, nuzzling the creature. "Good boy! You're such a good boy!"

Sora turned to the doctor. "I'm sorry about that, Mr. Strife. Jack got away from me while I wasn't looking. He's such a trouble-making little runt."

"And Jack is… a rat?"

"Yes, I've taught him how to kill," Sora said proudly.

"Oh. You've… taught Jack how to kill." Cloud repeated this slowly, trying his best to absorb the strange information.

"Yes."

"Jack, who is a rat named after a famous serial killer and has no opposable thumbs."

"Yes. Him and David Berkowitz, and Ted Bundy, and Lizzie Borden, and John Haigh." **[2]**

"And they are… also rats?" the doctor queried.

"Yes. You've no idea how hard it is to keep group morale with Gougie around. She ate Richard Chase last week."

Cloud's mind was spinning. "How in the world did you train rats to—?"

"Oh, it's not important how I managed to do it, Dr. Strife. You won't be remembering any of this anyway."

"What do you mean—"

Eye contact.

Mindfuck.

* * *

Leon happened to be having one of those few and gratefully accepted days when absolutely nothing demonic, deadly or evil intruded on his alone time with Cloud. The doctor had a light workday today, which gave him plenty of extra time with Leon. They were currently spending the uneventful afternoon on the couch. Cloud leaned on his boyfriend's shoulder as he channel-surfed.

Leon raised a brow as the blond paused momentarily on an episode of_ Supernatural_ and changed it.

"I thought you liked that show," the mortician said suddenly.

Cloud's cheeks flushed an embarrassed red. "I've never told you that!" he said.

"Yes, you have," Leon argued. "It was after the gh… ghastly night you had after working two shifts in the hospital in a row." The mortician had almost forgotten that he rewrote that bit of Cloud's memory. "There must've been a marathon on. You told me then."

Leon hoped Cloud would believe it. He didn't want to ruin their nice night by wiping his boyfriend's memory.

"Really? I don't remember…" The doctor pondered for a moment. "Are you sure? I would've remembered if there was a _Supernatural_ marathon…"

Leon saw his opportunity to distract Cloud and went for it. "So you really _are_ a fan," he grinned.

This time the red on the blond's face spread to his ears. "It's a guilty pleasure!" he said stoutly, changing the channel back to _Supernatural._

* * *

Cloud's head had been itchy lately. Not like the itch one would have on their scalp, but a strange sort of itch that seemed to be located on the _inside_ on his skull. It disturbed Cloud to think that "inside my head" was the only way to describe the location of his peculiar itching. There were no diseases the doctor could think of that showed such a symptom, aside from atypical schizophrenia. But Cloud was certain that he was rather sane and showed no further symptoms of the psychological disease. His social ability was still the same; no neologism, voices, hallucinations or delusions as far as he could tell, only the prickle in his brain.

The blond wondered if he should approach Leon on his singular symptom. He knew his boyfriend had knowledge of alternative therapies. Perhaps they could help.

* * *

One rainy day, Cloud dropped by the Leonhart residence.

"Good afternoon, Cloud," the brunet said cordially as he opened the door.

Cloud smiled and planted a small kiss on Leon's lips. "Good afternoon," he greeted.

The mortician returned the kiss and led him inside the house. Cloud spied a foreign umbrella propped by the door.

"Oh, have you got company?" the blond asked.

"Yes, my uncle has decided to pay me a rare visit," Leon answered. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all!" Cloud said. In fact, the doctor was rather excited. He had never met any member of Leon's family aside from Sora before.

A pale man with black hair and dressed in red garments was sitting in the living room, sipping from a mug.

"Uncle Vincent, may I present my boyfriend, Cloud," Leon introduced. Though, technically Vincent was his great-uncle.

The man stood up. "It's good to meet you, Cloud. I've heard a lot about you from my nephew," Vincent said, bowing his head slightly.

The blond felt his cheeks heat up a bit. "Thank you, Vincent," Cloud said. For some reason, somewhere in the back of his mind, a small memory flickered and the doctor found himself thinking of his childhood home in Nibelheim, where he had once met…

"…Valentine?" Cloud murmured as the memory became clearer. "Vincent _Valentine_?"

The pale man blinked. "Yes. Have we met before?"

Leon's eyes shifted nervously from his great-uncle to his boyfriend.

"Yes, yes we have!" the blond said excitedly. "Vincent, it's me, Cloud Strife! From Nibelheim! You used to live in that old mansion down the street from my house, remember?"

It took a moment for Vincent to recall. "Oh yes, I remember now," he said finally. "You were that poor child the other children always harassed."

"Yup, that was me!" Cloud beamed, content that he had been recognized by an old friend. "Wow, it's been ages! I haven't seen you since I was nine! How have you been doing? You look great!" He commented. "It's like you haven't aged since I last saw you!"

"Cloud!" Leon shouted suddenly, causing the doctor to look at him in surprise—

Eye contact.

Mindfuck.

"Was that entirely necessary?" Vincent asked as Leon tugged Cloud's limp body to the couch.

"I… I apologize…" Leon said, embarrassed. "I panicked."

The mortician sighed. "And must you drink that in here, Uncle Vincent?"

The dark-haired man took another swig of blood from his cup. "I was hungry and I didn't know you were expecting humans," Vincent answered and licked his lips. For a brief moment, one of his fangs flashed in the light. "Do you wish for me to leave?"

"No," the brunet said. "I suppose it's not catastrophic that Cloud recognized you. It can easily be covered up. Shall I fetch you more blood? I have approximately thirty-six minutes before Cloud awakens."

Vincent raised a brow and raised his empty cup to his nephew. "I take it you do this often," he said.

Setting his mouth into a broody line, Leon silently took the mug and went to the kitchen.

* * *

_Part 2: Murder Mystery Dinner Case Study_

* * *

"This is going to be so much fun!" Cloud said as he tugged on his boyfriend's arm. "I've never been to a murder mystery dinner before!"

Leon smiled indulgently. He was not entirely enthusiastic about going to (essentially) a two-bit play with cheap morbid theatrics, but the doctor had been so excited he couldn't say no.

The brunet jabbed a fork into his baked fish that, actually, wasn't all that bad. It made Leon feel a little better. At least the food was good and Cloud looked divine, as always. The blond was dressed in a ravishing suit that made his waist look exceptionally _sexy_ tonight.

Minding his manners, Leon turned his gaze back to his fish while the rest of the customers chatted amiably. They were all dressed formally, as the setting of the dinner was a high-classed party.

"Are you good with mysteries, Leon?" Cloud asked as he sipped his red wine.

"I like to think so," the mortician replied.

"Great!" The blond beamed. "I really want to win that prize."

Ah, yes, that's right. Leon had nearly forgotten. Whoever solved the case first was rewarded with two free passes to some theme park Cloud was incredibly fond of. The brunet was beginning to wonder if he was starting to spoil his boyfriend too much.

Cloud raised his hand and began to scratch one side of his head half-heartedly.

"Your head is still bothering you?" Leon asked, slicing off another piece of his meal to keep his hands busy. Despite the aloft way he spoke, he was anxious about the persistent tingling in Cloud's skull. It did not bode well for all the memories Leon had covered up.

"Yeah. I've been drinking that tea you gave me, but it still feels itchy…" the blond said. "It's not as bad as before, but it's still there."

"I advise that you continue with the tea. It should help."

Suddenly, one of the customers let out a loud, strangled groan, vomited an impressive amount of fake blood, gave a few very convincing choking sounds, convulsed a bit, and then fell face-down into his pasta.

Immediately, the idle chatter of the room stopped.

"Oh my goodness gracious!" said a blonde woman with such a terribly fake Texan accent that Leon almost cringed. "I do believe this man is dead!"

And she did this without even one look at the body. Fascinating. Leon forked another spoonful of baked fish into his mouth and chewed dutifully to hold back a snide comment.

Cloud excitedly got to his feet and went to the afflicted man. Even though it was obvious the actor was still breathing, the doctor went along with the skit.

"If I may examine him, please?" The blond asked. "I'm a doctor."

"Why, of course," the Texas woman said with a wink. "The name's Shirley Pinkman, darlin'. _Mizz_ Shirley Pinkman. I'm twenty-two and a Scorpio, by the way." She smiled.

"Um, thank you," the doctor said a bit uncomfortably.

Leon's eye twitched. He rose from his seat and stood next to Cloud to show that the blond had come with company.

Cloud gave a quick head-to-toe assessment of the man and noticed that there were some well-painted, white bands across the man's fingernails. The rest of the customers gathered behind them eagerly.

"Opacities on the nails," the blond noted. "He either had liver problems, a nail injury or…"

Leon decided to pitch in. "Arsenic poisoning," he said. The brunet took a spoon and prodded the man's head, thinking it would rather hilarious if he could make the "dead" man wince. "This is evidenced by the cardinal symptoms such as hematemesis, convulsions, leukonychia striata, as well as gastrointestinal discomfort. I saw him get up and go to the bathroom several times. Arsenic takes about twenty minutes to take effect, which is roughly how long ago the man had started eating his meal."

"My good sir," said another actor in a top hat. "Are you quite certain that arsenic is the probable cause?"

"Yes," the mortician replied.

"Are you _absolutely _certain?"

"Of course, I am. Cyanide has the same time frame, but the victim does not—ah, excuse me—did not present with cherry-red skin or signs of hypoxia such as cyanosis," Leon spoke crisply and articulately. "Strychnine causes convulsions, but hematemesis is not a sign and normally the convulsions exacerbate until death. It could be bromate, given the blood and gastroenteritis, but that sort of poisoning is unheard of nowadays and either way the victim does not show the characteristic petechiae. Some form of laundry detergent or other alkaline cleaner is also a possible cause but I've yet to meet a fellow human who could stomach the atrocious taste. Do you want me to go on, sir?"

"No, I think you've made your point," Top Hat said bitterly. After a moment, he gathered his enthusiasm once more and gestured wildly to the crowd. "Well, folks! My name is Steven Harley, and it seems like we've got a murder on our hands but lucky for us, we've got a room full of detectives to solve the case!"

The crowed gave a scattered laugh. Harley went on.

"Observe and deduce!" he said. "That is the secret to the success of a true detective! The great Sherlock Holmes constructed this great, simple system and I'm sure our brilliant minds can put it to use! Now, the first thing we must do is gather some clues! Feel free to check over every corner and we will meet back here in an hour with our findings."

"That was amazing, Leon!" Cloud whispered as the crowd scattered. "You're really good at this!"

"Just a bit of standard knowledge of poisons, that's all," Leon said humbly. "The symptoms of arsenic poisoning were actually quite well-researched. I applaud the writers. Now, shall we go check the outside? I could use the bit of fresh air as well."

As the rest of the customers bustled into the kitchen, the two strode out into the entrance leisurely.

"Leon?" Cloud asked.

"Mm-hm?" The brunet answered.

"Why aren't we going into the kitchen looking for clues like everyone else?"

"Consider, Cloud," Leon said, clasping his hands behind his back and deciding not to give the answer away completely. "Arsenic is normally used in…?"

"Um…"

The brunet waited patiently.

"Industrial purposes?" the doctor ventured. "Like, textiles and…wallpapers. But that was back in the day."

"What else?"

The blond blinked. "…I don't know."

"Did you notice what Miss Pinkman has wrapped around her neck?"

"You mean that really disturbing, dead fox with its creepy, gaping mouth?"

The mortician smiled. "The very same. Did you also happen to note that the tag that fox has stitched into its lining also bears her surname and a logo?"

The doctor's brows knitted together in thought. "So she owns a taxidermy busi—Oh." Cloud gazed up at his boyfriend, wide-eyed. "_OH_!"

Leon nodded. "Very good, Cloud," he said. "Arsenic is used in taxidermy preparations, which gives me reason to believe that Miss Pinkman is the culprit. It is very possible that she obtained some and poisoned our poor victim whose name eludes me. Also, she stated that the victim was dead without any proper examination. Though, that might have been poor theatrics than anything else. Of course, this is all simply circumstantial. We have yet to discover concrete evidence, her motive, and method of murder."

Cloud tilted his head to once side. "I still stand by what I said earlier. I think we should investigate the kitchen."

"No, I'll give the writers the benefit of the doubt. If they intended Miss Pinkman to be more than the standard two-dimensional character, she would have left no evidence in the most obvious place. Whatever vial or container she carried the arsenic in is probably still on her person. She could have planted it onto a customer—that would certainly be more exciting—but that's all the more reason to find her motive. Either way, we're going to have to approach Miss Pinkman personally."

A thin, slit-like grin started to crack along the mortician's face. "I must say, Cloud," he said, "I am enjoying myself quite a bit."

Cloud smiled back. "Glad to hear it."

They walked inside. Pinkman was standing amidst the dining tables, chatting with a few of the guests who had either given up their search in the kitchen or elected to stay behind. Poor What's-His-Name was still face-down in his food.

"Miss Pinkman?" Cloud decided to start first since the woman seemed to like him. "Can I have a word?"

"'Course you can, cutie!" she said.

"I was wondering about your relationship with—"

All at once, a few terrified screams emanated from the kitchen. The other customers snapped their heads to one another, worried, but Pinkman rose up from her seat.

"Oh my!" she said. "What_ever_ could that be? I am so very frightened! Perhaps we should stay here until one of our brave detectives comes back!"

Leon had to give her points for calming the customers by allowing them to think it was part of the script, but her acting was still sub-par. That series of screams was unprecedented, he could tell by the look on her face.

"I'll go investigate," the mortician said. "Cloud, remain here."

"Um, wait!" Miss Pinkman said, her accent slipping. "Sir, I really, _really_ think that you should stay here!"

"Leon…" Cloud clutched his boyfriend's arm apprehensively.

The brunet gave him a comforting smile in return. "There's no need to worry. Everything will be all right."

"_Everything will be all right."_

The doctor blinked as he felt a surge of fear course through him.

'That's strange,' the blond thought. Why would he feel so frightened of such reassuring words?

* * *

Leon placed his hand over his breast pocket, checking for a very reliable knife he always carried with him, and then strode into the kitchen. The guests were huddled in a terrified circle in the corner, including Harley.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

Harley lifted his head and slowly pointed upwards with a shaking finger. Leon followed the indicated direction. A man was hanging by a rope from the ceiling, his eyes frozen wide open in horror and his mouth gaping. The brunet quickly examined the body with narrowed eyes. Yes, the man was actually dead. This was intriguing indeed.

"The lights… went out… j-just for a second," Harley explained, trying to keep his voice from trembling. "His wife n-noticed he was gone and we…" He trailed off.

"Listen to me, all of you," Leon turned his head to the crowd. "I know it will be difficult, but it is imperative that you try to remain calm. I advise that we all return to the dining room. There is safety in numbers."

"Some sicko just killed my husband in a room full of people faster than I could blink…" said the man's grieving wife. "How are we supposed to feel safe? What if that freak is still here?"

"It probably still is," Leon said. "Now, if you could please relocate to the dining room. I would like several minutes alone with the body to examine it."

"What are you going to do?" Harley asked as the rest of the group shuffled out.

"Observe and deduce, Mr. Harley," the mortician replied. "I will be back in a minute's notice."

* * *

Cloud scratched his head. The itching in his brain had flared up again, like it had been irritated by something. Maybe it was the fact that he was nearly worrying himself to bits about Leon's safety. A man had been _killed_ for God's sakes and Leon went off by himself to search for clues. The blond knew that his boyfriend was capable, but that didn't stop him from being anxious. Ten minutes. If Leon wasn't back in ten minutes at the most, Cloud would go looking for him. It was completely inadvisable to say the least, but the doctor was certain he'd go mad if he didn't do anything.

Unconsciously, Cloud placed his hand over his coat pocket, feeling for the little black bag Leon had given him a few months back. He never went anywhere without it and obsessively checked that the bag was still with him. The bag comforted him, made him feel safe. It was a bit of Leon that he could keep always. He did wonder what Leon had put in it, Cloud had a small fascination with alternative techniques and witchcraft.

_"Don't!" _

The blond nearly jumped, startled, and glanced around. That was odd. He was certain he had heard Leon shout something. Or... Gah, his head was bothering him again.

Cloud raked his fingernails against his scalp again. The itching had gotten worse.

"Who do you think did it?" someone mumbled to their companion.

"I don't know, but I know it couldn't have been human," Tamera Amery, the unfortunate new widow, said. "I swear, it was only just for a second I took my eyes off Ted, and the next…" She choked up and placed her hand over her mouth. "Whatever it is isn't human—Oh my God, _we're all going to die._"

"I wanna go home," Shirley Pinkman, who finally abandoning her Texas accent, whimpered pitifully. "I wanna to go home."

"We're all going to die," muttered another man. "Shit. Fuck. Goddamit, _fuck_."

"What about that weird guy earlier? The one who knew about all those poisons? Do you think he did it?"

"Maybe he did," said Jordan Sayers, who had played the "deceased" earlier. "I mean, look how easily he figured out what killed me."

"And the way he was so calm about Ted's death," Tamera said. "Like he was _used_ to that kind of thing."

"Do you think that he…?" another began.

"I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I wanna go home…" Shirley went on.

"You know I think it might've been him," said someone else.

"He said... you know he said before that the killer might still be here," another person added.

"He did say that earlier. You're right."

"Oh God, what are we going to do, then?"

"Should we… kill him?"

"Could we?"

"I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I wanna go home…" Shirley continued like it was some holy mantra that could save her.

"…we _could,_ couldn't we?"

Cloud raised his head. "Leon couldn't have done it!" he said, defending his boyfriend. "He was with me the entire time. Leon wasn't anywhere near the kitchen when that man was killed. He was here in the dining room. Miss Pinkman, myself, and several other people can testify to that."

The blond looked to Pinkman, who uneasily nodded. A low murmur rose from the group, but there were no more accusations, at least not out loud.

"Thank you, Cloud," Leon said, stepping into the room. "I appreciate your kind words."

"Did you find anything?" the blond asked. The soft muttering started up again as the brunet went to Cloud's side.

"Yes," the mortician said. "I've solved it."

Cloud blinked. "You know who did it?"

"Yes."

Leon climbed onto a table and looked down on all of them.

"Everyone!" He addressed the group. "I have a confession to make. It was I who killed poor… Ted, was it?" He paused, contemplating. "Yes, it was I who killed Ted."

"I knew it!" Tamera shouted frantically, pointing a finger at him. "I knew you did it! I knew you did it, you freak! You fucking sicko!"

The customers rose up, shouting angrily. Several people had gathered some of the dishware lying around.

Cloud jumped to his feet, his wide eyes fixated on his boyfriend. "Leon, what are you doing?"

"Relax, Cloud," the mortician said calmly while the yells of the mob grew louder and louder.

"Yes, it was all my doing," Leon said, continuing. "I instigated this entire performance in the first place just to lure you all here."

The last sentence seemed to have thrown the crowd into frenzy. The shouts became noisier, more violent.

"We should kill him!"

"Yes, let's kill him!"

"Kill him, kill him!"

"We'll hang them too!"

"Kill them both!"

"LEON!" Cloud called, hardly able to hear himself above the clamor. He gripped the brunet's arm desperately. "LEON, WE HAVE TO GET—"

And suddenly everything went quiet.

"—OUT OF HERE—Oh!" The doctor almost clamped his hand over his mouth, surprised at the abrupt silence. He looked around him. All the guests around them were prostrate on the floor. After a quick glance, Cloud was relieved to see that they were just asleep.

"How… Leon, what…?" The blond turned to the mortician.

"Hush," Leon replied. "It's just a simple sleeping spell." Unfortunately, it wasn't powerful enough to work on the doctor since Cloud had built up a tolerance for magic over months of dating Leon. But the mortician didn't have time to address that now. In one swift motion, Leon slipped his hand into his coat pocket, pulled out his trusty knife, and threw it at break-neck speed at a spot on the wall.

Instead of the solid _thunk_! Cloud had expected there was an audible _squelch_ followed by a torrent of blood and a piercing shriek so loud the blond cringed and covered his ears. Something flickered in and out of visibility, something with gray, scaly skin, red eyes and a number of tentacles underneath a dark cloak.

"Wh-what the hell is that!_?_" Cloud shouted, stumbling back.

Leon stepped in front of him, placing himself in a position to protect his boyfriend should the situation call for it. "Our killer: a thesulac**[3]**, a paranoia demon," the brunet explained. "It more than likely murdered poor Ted to sow, manipulate and devour unrest and suspicion. Unfortunately, a thesulac usually exists in a non-corporeal state, making it very hard to slay, until it feeds on an excessive amount of paranoia. I then decided that the best course of action was to intensify the feelings of our rather inhospitable group to near hysteria. All that mistrust and insanity fattened up the demon into a physical state very quickly. I apologize if I had alarmed you due to my false confession, Cloud."

The creature (now completely visible) fell to the floor, writhing and howling in pain. It trained its crimson-colored eyes on Leon and, though a gush of blood from its mouth prevented it from speaking, cursed the brunet with as much hate and malice as its rotten, parasitic being could conjure. The thesulac jerked one last time and finally went limp; dead.

Leon sighed and then went onto his next task. The other people of the restaurant and the demon corpse would be easily dealt with, but first…

"Cloud?" the brunet asked as he faced the doctor.

The blond's eyes were shut tightly.

"What's wrong?" Leon grasped his boyfriend's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"I… I don't know." It had been a sudden impulse to close his eyes, Cloud realized moments later. An impulse born out of fear and (for some odd reason) that suspicious itching in head. But the strangest thing was that the blond wasn't afraid of the dead demon in the room or the fact that the existence of demons had now been exploded onto his relatively normal world or even that Leon was somehow well-versed in some form of magic and demon killing. Of all the strangest things, he was afraid of looking at Leon.

"Is something in your eye?" the mortician questioned, lifting Cloud's chin up with a finger. "Let me see."

"No." Cloud gritted out.

The response surprised both of them. The blond wasn't sure why he even said it. Meanwhile, the grip on the doctor's shoulders became slightly tighter. Cloud's heart rate started to race nervously for some reason, but the blond just _knew_ he shouldn't open his eyes. Something bad was going to happen if he met Leon's gaze, but he just didn't know exactly what it was. It sounded so irrational, and yet his fluttering heart, nervously squirming insides, and itching brain made his stubbornness seem so well-founded.

"…Cloud, look at me," Leon said, the tenderness had receded a bit in the brunet's voice. "Everything will be all right. Just look at me."

"You… you're going to do something aren't you?" the blond queried fearfully. "You said those words before too. 'Everything will be all right,' you say that almost every time you… ngh…" The prickling in his head had now grown unbearable. It felt like some evil bug was shifting and scratching inside his skull. It itched. It itched so badly it was _painful_. "Every time you… always…"

_"I didn't want a threesome in the first place, Genesis!"_

_—blood stains—a small bone between his thumb and index fingers—_

_"Everything will be all right."_

_—walked through the door and saw—__screamed and howled__—_

_"If you recognized the reference, you must watch it too!" _

"Stop! Cloud, stop right now! Don't you dare pick at that wall!" Leon shook him gently.

"Leon, what did you do to me?" Cloud whimpered, his fingers scraping along his scalp desperately. "My head… it hurts."

He gripped the blond's wrists to prevent him from scratching right to his brain. "You have to stop, Cloud."

Stop? How could Leon ask him to stop if the itching was absolutely hellish? God, it was torturous. He had to scratch it. He had to. .

"It itches... it hurts... Leon, please." The doctor's hands writhed and twitched, aching to claw at the diabolical irritation. "Please, please, it hurts so bad_. _Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, Leon. Please._"_

The mortician bit his lip, seeing Cloud so upset was unbearable. "I've been rewriting your memory," Leon said.

"_WHAT?_!" Cloud shouted, in hysterics.

"This isn't the first time you've come across the supernatural. I know that deep down, you know it too."

"You've b-b-been…" he said with a trembling voice. "...going into my head… a-and…"

"I did what I had to do to protect you."

"You…H-how many times?" the doctor whispered, though he was afraid to hear the answer.

"Too many."

"Estimate. Give me your best guess."

Leon hesitated. "…I lost count after forty."

"Oh, my God…" His body was shaking, the room seemed to be spinning. Just how much time was that? How much did he miss? How much of his memories weren't real? How much of their relationship wasn't real?

"Cloud, you have to calm—"

"Do not tell me to calm down!" the blond nearly shrieked.

Leon pressed on. "You must. That wall that I've constructed in your mind, the one that's holding back all your original memories, it's going to crumble faster now that you're panicking." The mortician wrapped his arms around his trembling boyfriend and pressed his face into his collarbone, holding Cloud like he would shatter to pieces if he didn't.

"I love you, Cloud," Leon murmured. "I know that this was a horrible thing implicate on you, but I wanted to so badly to keep you safe from all the monsters, to let you live in your bright world free of worries. And... And I was afraid—I'm still so very afraid—that you would be frightened… of me. Cloud," he said his name softly, lovingly, "you are beautiful, lovely and the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't want to lose you. So, please, let me reinforce the block or else the rampant memories will drive you mad."

Cloud's breathing had finally evened out and his fingers reached out and clutched the brunet's shirt tightly. Leon waited anxiously for his answer, his hand running up and down the doctor's back in a tender, comforting gesture.

Then, Cloud muttered something. It was unintelligible at first.

"Beg pardon?" Leon asked.

"Let it crumble," the doctor repeated, louder. "I want the wall to collapse."

The mortician blinked. "You can't be serious. Your mind will be cluttered, mixed with the real and false memories. It will be sheer chaos."

"You can guide me. I know you can."

"Cloud—"

"You said before that I was the best thing that had ever happened to you." Cloud pulled away and raised his head to him. Though, he didn't open his eyes just yet. "The same goes for me, too. So when I said I loved you, I meant _all_ of you; including the freakish, weird, horrifying supernatural parts. The Leon that slays demons and stalks the nightmares that haunt the dark is also the Leon I love more than anything. And these…" the blond paused, gathering his resolve, "these memories you protected me from are also part of you. I know you hid them from me because you love me. I trust you, so trust _me_."

At last, Cloud opened his eyes and met the mortician's steely-gray gaze. "I am not weak," he said.

Oddly enough, Leon found himself smiling back. "No, you're not," he said, the sentence felt confirming for the both of them.

* * *

**[1]**"You should be thanking me. Now you know for sure that when he thinks of the sexiest person alive he thinks of you." **Okay, so an incubus is basically a male demon that has sex with humans and feeds on their sexual energy. They don't really say this in the lore, but my thinking is that if they want to seduce humans so they can feast on their lust then they would embody someone their prey would find the sexiest. So, when Genesis appeared in front of Cloud—weirdly and romantically enough—Genesis changed into Leon. Genesis, by the way, is a ****_Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core _****character.**

**[2]** "Him and David Berkowitz, and Ted Bundy, and Lizzie Borden, and John Haigh." **They're all infamous murderers.**

**[3]** "...thesualac; paranoia demon."** As seen in **_**Angel**_** (and possibly **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer, **_**I don't know, I only watch **_**Angel**_**.) I wanted to use this demon because I really like the effect of paranoia and hysteria on an otherwise normal group of humans. It's a favorite subject of mine. **

**And that's it for the Cleon bit everyone. OH. And yeah, just to be clear, Cloud wasn't affected by the parnaoia demon because he had Leon's hex bag with him.  
**

**Bunches of thanks for _copycat-capycot_ who beta'd these chapters back to me super fast! :DDDD  
**

**—Now go on to the next chapter! Hahaha.**

**_|Corrosive Moon|_  
**


	19. Extra Chapter 4

**This chapter takes place from June to December.  
**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

_Extra Chapter 4: Vanitas and Sora! Two Brothers Against the World!_

Vanitas Cole took it upon himself to make up for the many years he and Sora did not bond together and visited his half-brother frequently. Sora was worried that the ebony-haired man would fail out of college until Leon supplied that Vanitas already did.

"But he's so smart," Sora said. "That's a shame."

"He's too unmotivated," Leon explained, crossing his arms. "And he takes too many drugs." The mortician silently hoped that his son wouldn't pick up the man's habits.

The petite brunet could feel his father's apprehension. "Vanitas means well, Dad. I really like him."

Leon rubbed his temple. It wasn't his place to say anything if Sora wanted to spend time with his half-brother. At the very least, he knew that Vanitas wouldn't harm the petite brunet… intentionally.

* * *

"So, been up to anything lately?" Vanitas asked as he stuck his shovel in the dirt with a grunt.

"Nothing much. I went on a date with Riku last night," Sora shoveled another mass of earth to the side.

"Oh? How did that go?"

"Good. We went to see that new movie that came out. The one with the pirates."

"He's been treating you nice?"

"Yes."

"That's good to hear."

_Thunk! _

"Oh! I've found it!" Vanitas said, throwing his shovel aside and reaching for the crowbar behind him. Sora bent down and excitedly brushed away the dirt to reveal a coffin lid.

"Heads up," the ebony-haired man said before he jammed the end of his crowbar into the coffin's side and wrenched it open. A putrid smell burst from the coffin but neither male was bothered by it. Vanitas tossed the door aside and glanced down at a corpse that had been rotting in its box for about three weeks.

"Ooh, she's been aging well…" the twenty-three-year-old whistled.

"Yes." Sora leaned forward and brandished a scalpel. "How does the expression go? Shotgun?" he glanced up at his half-brother.

"Yeah."

"I shotgun prodding the pancreas first."

* * *

"What was our Dad like?" Sora asked his half-brother one day. They were out in the park, swinging lazily on the swings.

Vanitas lifted his head and thought for a while. "Leon doesn't tell you about him?" He asked.

"He doesn't like to talk about it. So I don't ask."

The ebony-haired man nodded. "He was nice. Really nice," Vanitas began. "He was the kind of person who didn't let anything get him down, and took responsibility for the mistakes he made." There was a rare sad note in his half-brother's voice that Sora caught.

"I don't think you're a mistake," he said.

"Well, I wasn't exactly part of his grand master plan when I was born," Vanitas sighed. "He was only seventeen. Mom was only sixteen. There were still a lot of things they wanted to do. They never complained, but I knew that life was harder for them because of me." He wrapped his arms over the chains of the swings and slumped forward. "But Dad always smiled. He visited me often and brought me lots of gifts. Even when he married your mom and you were on the way, he never forgot about me and Mom."

Vanitas glanced at Sora and smiled. "He wanted me to be there when you were born, you know."

The brunet's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"I said no," Vanitas scrunched his nose. "I was too grossed out."

They laughed. Sora quieted first, dropping his gaze to the floor. "Do you think he's mad at me?" he asked softly.

"Mad at you? For what?" the ebony-haired man asked, puzzled.

Sora kept his eyes fixated on the ground. Vanitas understood immediately.

"No way!" he said. "Look, Dad's not pissed at you or anything like that! Hell, I'll bet my weed stash he's up there bragging about it right now like this!" Vanitas leaped to his feet, stretched his arms out to the park, and hollered at the top of his lungs. "'I'm so proud of son, everyone! Yeah!' That's what he'd say!" The ebony-haired man disregarded the stares of the few bystanders and spun around to face Sora. "And your Mom's probably doing the same thing! They're annoying everyone in heaven because of you!"

The mortician's son turned scarlet. "That's absurd…" he mumbled, embarrassed. "They can't really be like that…"

"Believe it! It's your parents!" Vanitas bent down and jabbed him square in the forehead. "They love you to bits!"

The ebony-haired man turned heel and sprinted for the monkey bars, thinking of ice cream, a ride on someone's shoulders, a nickname he hadn't been called in a long, long time, and a winter day; a sweet memory.

* * *

"_You're really quiet today, Ninja. Something wrong?"_

_Vanitas held onto his father's spiky hair as he sat on his large shoulders. A winter breeze gusted around them, making the ebony-haired boy shiver._

"_Dad," Vanitas began, looking downward, "my new brother's gonna come soon, isn't he?"_

"_Yup!" Zack easily lifted the load from his shoulders and set Vanitas down next to the monkey bars, his son's favorite. "Rinoa's ready to pop any day now!"_

_Vanitas giggled as he silently climbed on top of the structure with ease, living up to his father's affectionate nickname. _

"_So!" Zack placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward, his face serious, but still playful. "It's time for a man-to-man talk."_

"_Did I do something bad?" the ebony-haired boy asked. He settled on top of the monkey bars and rubbed his hands together. Despite the chilly day, he refused to wear mittens because they hindered his climbing ability._

"_Not at all, Ninja, but we have to talk about your brother." Zack, with his massive height, easily rested his arms on the structure without bending at the waist. "I know it's kinda scary with a new family member coming along, but promise me one thing, okay?"_

"_What's that, Dad?"_

"_Since you're gonna be a big brother, you've gotta take care of your little brother. No matter what!"_

_Vanitas looked confused. "Why?"_

"'_Cause that's what a big brother does!" _

_The ebony-haired boy didn't really understand his father's logic, and it irked him. Why should he care for a little screaming, squishy bundle? The helpless, peachy thing was probably going to monopolize his father's time despite what he said. Maybe he'd never see his father again. _

"_Vanitas."_

_Vanitas looked up when Zack said his name. He knew that whenever his father used his real name it meant that he wanted him to listen._

"_Do you love me?" Zack asked._

_The ebony-haired boy nodded. _

"_Then I hope you can love your brother too, because I love him also."_

_Vanitas frowned. "More than me?"_

"_I love you both, equally. But he's gonna be a problematic tyke, I know it." Zack grinned and Vanitas found himself returning it. "I can tell! Rinoa says Sora's been jumping and kicking inside her like a little acrobat! That's why you have to help me take care of him, okay? He's gonna need a big brother to keep him out of trouble."_

_The ebony-haired boy was still unsettled by it, but if Sora was important to his father, then he would learn to like him too. "Okay," he agreed._

_Zack beamed at him. "Thanks, Ninja," he said. He threw his arms up suddenly. "All right! How 'bout we get some ice cream?" he shouted. _

"_Yeah!" With ease, Vanitas leaped onto his father's back and locked his arms around his neck. The boy nearly choked him on accident, but Zack laughed anyway._

"_Let's go!" Zack said, dashing for the nearest ice cream parlor. _

* * *

"Okay, so this is your gas, that's your break, and you remember the gears, right?" Vanitas asked, looking over to Sora from the passenger seat.

Sora gripped the wheel firmly and nodded. "Yes."

"So, seriously? Leon never taught you how to drive?"

The brunet nodded again. "Are you sure we can use your car?"

Vanitas' car was a nice, black, 1967 Impala**[1]**. And even though Sora didn't know the value of such an old car, he knew his brother cared for his vehicle like he cared for him.

"Yeah, it's totally cool, bro!" Vanitas reassured him. "Okay, so, step on the brake and put the car into drive."

Sora did so.

"Great, now let the brake go. The car's gonna go forward, but that's just what it does."

The brunet gingerly lifted his foot from the pedal, nearly jumping as the car lurched.

"Calm down, calm down. Give it gas," Vanitas instructed.

Sora carefully pressed down on the gas pedal.

"Good," the ebony-haired man said as they cruised down the street without incident. "You can get up to twenty miles if you want."

"Okay…" Sora felt his chest fluttering. He was driving!

"Vanitas, I'm doing it!" he said, breathlessly as he turned the corner.

"Yeah, you're doing great! You can speed up if you feel like it."

Exhilarated, the mortician's son inched the speedometer past 30 miles per hour.

"Hah! Just wait 'til Leon hears about this!" Vanitas said, lowering his window and resting his elbow on the car door. "He'll never call me irresponsible again—OH MY GOD!" The ebony-haired man let out a shriek as a teenage boy on a bike suddenly swerved into the road. There was a deafening screech as Sora slammed on the brakes but the car hit the bike anyway. The boy spiraled off his bike, collided with the windshield with a loud _thump_, rolled off the lid of the car and finally landed face-first on the asphalt. Sora and Vanitas glanced at each other fearfully before scrambling out of the car.

"Hey, kid!" Vanitas shouted, ignoring several drivers who had stopped behind them and were poking their heads out of their vehicles. "Kid, are you all right?"

Sora fell to his knees at the adolescent's side. "He's breathing," he said; a reassuring statement. The brunet moved to press two fingers at the teenager's carotid arteries when he suddenly woke, leaped to his feet, snatched up his bike, and ran off.

"Well, apparently he's okay…" Vanitas said, crossing his arms. "I guess he's lucky you were going at thirty."

"Excuse me!" Sora called after the adolescent. "Are you all right?"

"Screw you!" The teenager barked back without even sparing a glance at them.

"Yeah, he's fine," Vanitas said, patting the brunet on the shoulder reassuringly. "Wanna get some ice cream?" he asked.

"I suppose…" Sora said. "Vanitas?"

"Yup?"

"Can you drive this time?"

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

Leon had his doubts about Vanitas. He thought for sure that the ebony-haired man was too much of a bad influence to truly be a brother to his son, but then one night the mortician came home late to find the two half-brothers sitting side-by-side three feet from the TV, sharing a bowl of popcorn, and completely absorbed in a gory horror movie marathon.

Leon smiled to himself before quietly slipping into the revolving wall next to the second lamp on the left and disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

One fine Saturday afternoon, Vanitas strode into Sora's room.

"Hey, Sora! Guess who_—_WHOA." Vanitas stopped right in his tracks at the sight of Sora sitting in a corner, knees drawn up to his chest, head down and a very nearly visible cloud of sorrow and doom looming over him. Gougie pawed at her owner worriedly and even the sunlight seemed to have lost its luster in the dark corner the younger half-brother was occupying. Immediately, Vanitas went to the brunet's side, pushing the black cat away so he could have room.

"Hey, what's up, bro?" the twenty-three-year-old asked gently. He had never seen Sora so distraught. "Something wrong?"

The mortician's son nodded without looking up.

"Wanna tell me about it?"

Sora shook his head. Vanitas frowned and, even though the brunet didn't want to talk about it, his mind sharpened into a high-functioning analytical state he seldom used. First, Vanitas scanned his half-brother's body. No signs of abuse were noted. Then, the ebony-haired man turned his attention to the Sora's room and he caught sight of a calender. August 20th.

Riku had left for Neverland yesterday.

"You miss Riku?" Vanitas asked.

The brunet stiffened, but he nodded a few seconds later.

"Aw, don't be bummed out, Sora!" Vanitas tried. "I'm sure Riku will be back before you know it! And you'll jam out with the sweet music of young love as loudly and in as many places as you want!" The twenty-three-year-old grinned.

Sora didn't move. Vanitas' face fell as his attempt to make his half-brother feel better crashed and burned. He silently sat Indian-style next to Sora and bumped his shoulder against his lightly to get his attention.

"Wanna get some ice cream?" the twenty-three-year-old asked. "I'll pay."

The brunet shook his head.

"Wanna watch a slasher movie?"

Another decline.

Vanitas poured his wits into his next suggestion.

"...You know, I hear that a couple towns over there's a museum with a torture devices exhibit. Wanna go?"

Slowly, Sora nodded. The ebony-haired man beamed.

"All righty!" Vanitas took the brunet's wrist and carefully pulled him to his feet. "Let's go see the torture devices exhibit! I bet they'll have an iron maiden! Ooh! And thumbscrews! You like thumbscrews, don't you, Sora?"

* * *

"Vanitas, can I ask you something?" Sora asked one day as they were lounging in Sora's room.

"Mm-hm. What's up?" Vanitas was on his back holding up a witchcraft book—he didn't practice the religion, but he was interested in it—a couple feet from his face.

"Why do you take so many drugs?"

The ebony-haired man looked at him. "Because life's too boring without them. And I can't stand being bored." He absolutely couldn't.

The look on the brunet's face told everything Vanitas needed to know before Sora spoke. "Have you ever—"

"No."

The mortician's son was taken aback by the sharp cut-off. "You didn't let me finish—"

"I didn't need you to." Vanitas said, tossing the book on the bed and standing up. "Look, Sora, I know what you're going to say, and I don't wanna hear it. I gotta go. See ya."

"Vanitas, wait." Sora grabbed his half-brother's wrist. "I'm just worried."

The expression on Sora's face jerked a heart string. Vanitas hated it when people looked at him like that; a pitiful, worried, sad expression. His mother used to do it, and now Sora was doing an impressive imitation of it. "I know you are," the ebony-haired man mumbled.

Uneasily, the brunet went on, aware that he was treading on a delicate subject. "There are some programs that can help you, I'm sure..." Sora stopped when Vanitas' hand grasped his wrist in a vice-like grip and pried his fingers off. His amber eyes narrowed dangerously, and for a rare moment in his life, Sora was helpless.

In his long association with the supernatural, Sora had faced many kinds of monsters, but there was something in half-brother that he had never encountered before. Something evil and parasitic with long, barbed, curved claws, and a wretched, clever mouth. It sunk its hooks so deeply inside the ebony-haired man it started to become almost indistinguishable. When pleased, it purred and tickled Vanitas' brain. When angered, it whispered sweetly into its host's ear, cajoling him to raise his fist to defend it. When frightened, it latched its terrible claws around the twenty-three-year-old's spine, heart, and brain, daring anyone to try and remove it. The merciless thing would rip out everything it could reach, screaming and laughing.

Sora didn't know what to do.

In reality, it was only several seconds, but it seemed that centuries had gone by with Vanitas's hand nearly welded to the brunet's wrist. Then, finally, the ebony-haired man dropped his gaze and Sora felt the earth turning again. Carefully, Vanitas uncurled his fingers and released him. Without another word, the twenty-three-year-old turned to leave.

After regaining control over himself, Sora placed a hand over his previously unnoticed racing heart and carefully steadied his breath. The circulating air was welcomed in his petrified lungs and did wonders for his heart rate. There was a sound of the front door opening and the brunet realized that Vanitas was leaving. He raced downstairs just as his half-brother was about to exit. Despite whatever lurked inside him, Vanitas was still his brother and the mortician's son didn't want to lose him.

"Vanitas! I..." Sora started, but he found himself at a lost for words. "I apologize. I won't pry anymore. Please don't leave."

The ebony-haired man didn't look him in the eye, but he raised his hand and ruffled the brunet's hair in a comforting gesture. "No, _I'm_ sorry, Sora. Didn't mean to scared you, but I..." Vanitas paused. "...don't ask me that again, okay? I don't want... to hear it from you, too."

* * *

Watching game shows with Vanitas was one of the most entertaining things Sora loved to do. If he was bored and compelled enough, Vanitas would offhandedly make a point to state the answers before the candidate could. Sora enjoyed watching him fire off answers as easily as one would breathe. The brunette greatly admired his half-brother's massive intellect, even if the man never really utilized it.

_"This cooking fuel is produced by heating wood without oxygen,"_ the announcer stated.

"What is charcoal?" Vanitas said around a mouthful of sour-cream-and-onion chip sandwich.

_"What is charcoal?"_ the contestant replied, unsure.

_DING DING DING! _The cheery victory noises sounded.

_"This antidepressant is most often referred to by snide shrinks as 'Slo—"_

The ebony-haired man snorted. "What is Valium?"

_"—Mo.'"_

_"What is Valium,"_ echoed the contestant.

_DING DING DING!_

_"This explosive jelly—"_

"What is napalm?" Vanitas said.

_" —is combined with gasoline to make incendiary bombs."_

_"Um... uh..."_ the contestant stammered._ "That's... What is napalm!" _

_DING DING DING!_

_"A kite-flying linonophobic would fear this."_

"What is string?" the ebony-haired man said, sipping his milk. "Hey, Sora, do you have any more chocolate milk?"

_"Is it... what is a... string?"_ the candidate asked nervously.

_DING DING DING!_

"Not that I recall, Vanitas," the mortician's son replied.

_"This word is the third longest word in the English dictionary."_

"What is pneumono ultra microscopic silico volcanico niosis*****?" the twenty-three-year-old stated, finishing the last bit of his sandwich. "Mm... I love sour-cream-and-onion flavored chips."

Meanwhile, the contestant was at a completely loss.

_BUZZ!_

_"Time's up!"_ The announcer said. _"The answer is: What is pneumono ultra microscopic silico volcanico niosis?"_

* * *

Sora walked into his room to find Vanitas sitting on his coffin, the brunet's laptop on his lap.

"Vanitas, what are you doing?" Sora asked.

"Reading your email," Vanitas answered simply with a grin.

"What?" The brunet's eyes widened.

"Oh, look! You've got a new email from Riku! _AWW…_" the older half-brother clasped his hands together in front of him in a over-done show of mock excitement. Sora practically pounced on Vanitas as he scrambled for his laptop.

"Vanitas!" the brunet protested, arms flailing. But the twenty-three-year-old kept him at bay with his foot.

"Aw, he says he had a dream about you! Oh, how precious!" Vanitas smirked down at him, reveling in the joys of being an older brother. "I bet it was a wet one! How shall I write back to him, Sora?"

"Vanitas, cut it out! Give it back!" Sora cried, losing all composure at the embarrassment of it all.

"Okay, then! Dear Riku," Vanitas began as he opened a new message and started to type furiously. "How 'bout… I come… over there…"

"Stop! Don't be so mean!" The brunet dove for his laptop but Vanitas ducked out of the way. Sora felt the world spin and the next thing he knew he was face-down on his floor with Vanitas sitting on top of him and the ebony-haired man's foot on the back of his neck to keep him in place. Vanitas continued to speak what he was writing,

"…and show you… how hot… and sweaty..."

"No!" Sora protested uselessly.

"…the real thing… can get. Question mark. Winking smiley aaaaaaand… Send!"

"_VANITAS!_!_"_

* * *

"Come on, Sora, it was just a joke!" Vanitas said. He glanced over at Sora, who was blatantly sulking in his passenger seat, arms crossed, lips pouty, the works. The brunet refused to look at him. His cinammon hair was a mess, partially because he struggled a bit as Vanitas manhandled him into his car for some Vanitas-Is-Sorry-For-Being-A-Bastard ice cream.

"Shouldn't you be happy that I didn't _really_ send it?" the ebony-haired man asked.

Sora silently angled his body away from his half-brother.

It was one of the few times Vanitas felt incredibly guilty. Everything he had done to create a rather healthy relationship with his half-brother was now in jeopardy. One bit of him argued that Sora was over-reacting, but his conscience resiliently claimed that the ebony-haired man had taken his joke too far simply by preying on the sexual insecurities of a teenager.

Vanitas sighed and faced Sora. "I'm sorry," he said as sincerely as he could. "I shouldn't have read your email and pretended to send an embarrassing email to your boyfriend. It was low, childish and a total violation of privacy. I'll never do it again. Sora, please forgive me."

The brunet did not move, did not even speak, and the silence was almost maddening. Finally, Sora opened his door and slid out of the vehicle. After taking several steps towards the Ice Cream Shoppe he glanced over his shoulder, still too angry to ask it but his facial expression was enough to convey the message:

'I thought you said you were going to get me ice cream?'

Vanitas smiled in relief and got out of the car. Sora didn't have to say it either, but he knew it he was forgiven.

* * *

Quistis, Vanitas' friend, roommate, co-worker and (on numerous occasions) conscience, stopped by the Leonhart household almost as much as Vanitas did. Though, mostly it was to drag the ebony-haired man back to the Badlands because he had been shirking his duties for too long.

"I'm sorry he's so much trouble…" Sora said with a sigh.

"Oh, there's no need to apologize," Quistis said, smiling. "I've been taking care of this knucklehead since freshman year at high school."

Meanwhile, Vanitas struggled in her headlock. Quistis was as strong as she was judicious, and she knew how to handle Vanitas and looked out for him, which greatly decreased Sora's anxiety.

"Qu, I can't breathe!" the twenty-three-year-old choked. "Maybe you should… I dunno… loosen up."

"Vanitas, that trick won't work on me," the light-haired girl said, looking more annoyed than concerned. Vanitas sighed heavily and ceased all attempts to escape, resigning himself to his fate.

* * *

"Happy birthday, bro!" Vanitas announced happily as he stepped into the Leonhart household, a chocolate cake in hand.

Sora beamed as he let his brother in. "Thank you, Vanitas," he said, taking the cake.

"And in celebration of my cute half-brother's birthday, I've brought this!" Vanitas fished out a small Ziploc bag full of off-white powder from his jacket. Sora thought it was sugar at first. "Crystal meth! It's amazing! You have to try some—"

All of a sudden, Leon burst from the wall, wood flying in all directions and his expression livid. His foot connected with Vanitas' cheek in a loud, resounding crack, sending the ebony-haired man flying into the staircase.

"Dad!" Sora shouted in protest as he raced to Vanitas' side.

"Vanitas, you promised you wouldn't!" Leon ranted, stalking to the ruined staircase.

The ebony-haired man extracted himself from the mess, dusting off his shoulder with a scowl on his face. "Oh, don't get your panties in a knot, Leon!" he said. "He's eighteen! Trying new things is part of growing up, you old coot!"

"How in the world is trying high-addictive, illegal substances supposed to be part of growing up_?_!"

* * *

"Vanitas, I don't think this is a good idea…" Sora said.

"Nonsense!" Vanitas said, keeping his younger half-brother in tow.

"But I can drink when I'm twenty-one. It's only three years away."

The ebony-haired glanced backwards at him with a confused expression. "Why wait 'til your twenty one when you can drink alcohol now thanks to yours truly?"

"Dad's not going to like this…"

"That's why he's never going to know!" Vanitas hauled him to the front of a very long line and waved at the bouncer, who waved in return and unhooked the thick rope to let them continue. Sora glanced at his half-brother, amazed.

"It's all about connections, bro," the ebony-haired man explained with a grin. "So, what do you want to drink?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I've never done this before." Sora looked around. The club was loud, the lights bright and the people crammed so far into his personal space Sora feared he was going to get lost in this sea of bodies. But Vanitas held his wrist tightly, never relinquishing his hold.

"All right, I'll get us started." Vanitas signaled the bartender and called out a drink name. The older half-brother beckoned Sora to sit on the stool and the brunet did so.

A few minutes later a couple bottles were slid to them and Vanitas held his up. "Cheers!" he said.

Sora did the same, staring at the glass in apprehension. "I'm supposed to drink it quickly, yes?" he asked.

"Mm-hm…" Vanitas said as he impressively chugged half of his drink down in one go.

Giving the bottle one last look, the brunet raised it to his lips and drank. He shuddered at the initial, distinct taste of alcohol, and then suddenly it was replaced by this… very smooth blueberry flavor. It was rather pleasant. Sora licked his lips when he finished the glass.

"Good, huh?" Vanitas asked, grinning.

The younger half-brother nodded in response. "What is it?"

"Smirnoff. It's flavored vodka. Ooh! There's this other drink I think you'll like..." The ebony-haired man turned to order another drink and struck up a conversation with the bartender. Sora listened attentively as they talk about alcoholic beverages and something about special spoons and absinthe. He hardly noticed another man slip into the barstool next to him. He was blond, with a tattoo on one side of his face that was too dark for Sora to see clearly.

"Hey," the man said. "What's your name, cutie?" he asked.

Sora leaned away from him. "I don't think I wish to tell you," the brunet said.

"Aw, don't be like that," the blond man purred as he moved closer to Sora, his hand sliding onto the brunet's hip. "Why don't you let me buy you a drink?"

Sora was about to protest when he felt the man's hand suddenly squeeze his backside. The brunet glared at him and raised his hand to retaliate when suddenly Vanitas' hand shot forward and snapped the man's wrist. The agonized cry pierced through the nonsensical chatter of the club. As a follow-up, Vanitas decked the man in the face so hard he was sent spinning as he fell backwards.

"Hands off my brother, you freak!" the ebony-haired man shouted, stalking in front of Sora. The mortician's son had never seen the normally relaxed Vanitas so enraged.

The blond was on his feet in a second. "What the hell's your problem?_!_" he shouted.

The bystanders watched the tense scene with a cautious excitement. The man charged at Vanitas. The twenty-three-year-old was ready for him. Vanitas dodged a punch aimed for his left cheekbone and then executed a beautiful judo throw, tossing the blond onto a table at the far end of the club.

"You just totally got schooled, Dickless!" Vanitas shouted, victorious. A scattered chuckle rose from the crowd.

Two men stepped from the crowd behind Vanitas, apparently the blond's friends. As one of the lackeys lunged for his half-brother, Sora snatched up a nearby drink and threw it. The glass hit its mark, shattering at the man's shoulder. A bit of alcohol splashed into the man's eyes, forcing him to stop and try and rub out the irritant. The noise brought Vanitas' attention behind him. He tossed a brief glance at Sora and smirked. The ebony-haired man turned his body sideways and crouched into a fighting position, ready to take on the new adversaries when suddenly two policemen burst into the club. Before Sora could even blink Vanitas was at his side.

"We have to go!" he said. "They're gonna throw me in the pen if they get me this time!"

'This time?' Sora wondered for a brief moment.

Vanitas practically dragged his younger half-brother after him as he weaved expertly through the crowd. But before they sprinted out the back door Vanitas took time to look over his shoulder and shout one last taunt,

"You'll never catch me alive, assholes!"

One complicated route back to the '67 Impala later, Vanitas was driving Sora home.

"So, uh…" Vanitas leaned back into the driver's seat, glancing at Sora briefly, "...you're not gonna tell Leon about this, are you?"

"No," Sora shook his head. "Dad would be furious. And he'd probably kill you."

"Oh, death is nothing…" the ebony-haired man gave a sheepish grin. "I'm more afraid of what Leon's gonna to do me _before_ I die."

"That makes sense," Sora agreed. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly as he let his body slide down the seat. "Vanitas?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I had fun. We should do this again."

Vanitas laughed. "Yeah, but we're gonna have to go to a different bar. They've probably banned us from that one."

* * *

Vanitas spun and spun and spun andspunandspun until he couldn't spin anymore, laughing until he nearly choked. Not that he would mind because drowning in this fantastic sea of colors sounded like a pretty rad way to go down. He didn't even know how he got here. The ebony-haired man tried to think but the thoughts were just too wiggly and they wouldn't stay still. Naughty little things... Let's see... There had been music and laughter and a party and there had been people and there was a _blissful _amount of drugs. How did that song go again?

"Red and mellow," Vanitas sang, slurred, "and green and sandy and ice cream—"**[2]**

No wait, that didn't sound right. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. That couldn't be words. Maybe he should spin again. He really liked spinning. Maybe that would help—help with what? Ice cream, dream, nothing as they seem and what do _you_ deem worthy?

"And ruby and oliver and violence and fawn..."

Where was he going again? He remembered he rode the bus at one point, but then he got kicked out of the bus for some reason he didn't know but he remembered the bus-driver-guy yelling at him about something like a meanie so Vanitas started to walk but he forgot where he was going and kept walking. And... there were more drugs, and Vanitas probably had sex somewhere some time ago but he couldn't really remember anymore but he recalled it felt _amazing_ even if he wasn't entirely sure who he was fucking or who was fucking him and that's all right. Everything was all right because everything was amazing, beautiful, gorgeous-porous_._ Vanitas grasped he had wanted to go somewhere at one point. Somewhere important to him.

"And brownies and star and mary and jane and hazel and..." **[3]**

He recognized the street signs... sorta... but there wasn't enough there to spark an actual connection. The letters and numbers kept changing, twirling and whirling in a way he almost envied. For a moment, the ebony-haired man thought of asking the street sign to sort itself out and tell him, but street signs were never really much help, the bastards. There was no one else on the street either. What time was it anyway...?

"And cream and crimson and bloody and rose—Oh, I love roses!" Vanitas jumped into the air and into the stratosphere, aroundandaroundandaroundwego into the sky until he effortlessly leaped over the moon and blew a kiss to the sun on the other side of the earth.

"The only thing to do is jump OH-VER the moooooon!" **[4] **As he floated back into the ground, the twenty-three-year-old howled with laughter for no particular reason except maybe to piss off the street signs. They had started to converge and now they've brought the lamp posts into their group, whisperinggossiping_sobbing_ about the things they've seen and heard that Vanitas never really liked. The lamp posts talked about the most horrible things. And they always scared away the colors and glared down on him, fixating their blindingly bright light like some sort of critical eye and they stared and stared and stared and for some reason Vanitas always heard his mother starting to speak inside his head, nagging and nagging.

Vanitas, eat your greens. Clean your room. Settle down. Don't do that. Are you doing drugs again? What did I tell you about that? Please, come home right now. I'm worried about you. Why are you like this? Do you think your father—

The twenty-three-year-old found that his feet had started running without telling his brain. Good job, feet. They've always been so helpful. Vanitas ran until he found himself in darkness once again and he felt safe. The river of colors had started to swirl and bend again again, wrapping around him almost lovingly. In thanks, Vanitas sang to the waves of colors.

"Clean and clear and pure and rare and... and..." **[5]**

But seriously, though, just what was it with this street? There was something...

Oh well.

"And purple and gold and pink and orange and BLUE!"

His shin bumped against something and Vanitas stumbled. Someone caught him.

"Vanitas?" The voice sounded familiar.

"Huh? Wuzzat?"

"It's me. Sora." The brunet held him fast as he allowed the twenty-three-year-old to find his balance. It took several moments for Vanitas to gather enough brainpower to answer back.

"Oh!" he said. "Hey! Hey, Sora!" He grinned. "What are you doing in Badlands?"

His younger half-brother looked puzzled. "Badlands? Vanitas, you're in Twilight Town."

"Uhhh... No. Nope, I don't think so." The ebony-haired man shook his head.

"Quistis called me," Sora said. "She said you've been missing for a few days. Are you all right? Where have you been, Vanitas?"

"To the moon and back, bro, **[6]**" the older half-brother said dreamily.

A soft, half-tired, half-relieved sigh passed through the brunet's lips. "Come on, Vanitas. Let's go home."

Sora began to lead him back into the street and Vanitas resisted for a moment, hesitant to return under the glaring eyes of the lamps. But Sora held him close at his side, an arm wrapped around his waist and one of the ebony-haired man's arm was thrown around his neck for further support. Vanitas shut his eyes, suddenly realizing that his feet were aching.

"Hey, Sora," Vanitas began, "do you know that song? The one about the colors?"

* * *

Vanitas yanked on Gougie's tail playfully. The black cat meowed loudly in response, but the ebony-haired man only laughed and tugged harder.

"Vanitas, you enjoy tormenting my cat far too much," Sora said, looking up from his book with a frown.

"What are you talking about? Given what you and Leon do to cats, I'm practically a saint!" Vanitas pulled on Gougie's tail hard, enough to lift the cat's lower half from the floor. Gougie was furious, whining at the top of her little cat lungs. Vanitas smirked down at the furry animal.

"The cats we use are normally dead," Sora argued.

"You're still desecrating their poor kitty remains." The twenty-three-year-old yanked on Gougie's tail again.

"MMRRRRRROWWW!"

At last, Gougie could take no more abuse. She whipped around and swiped at Vanitas' face.

"OH FUCK!" Vanitas yelped, released the poor cat and fell backwards with his hands clutching his face. "Ow! Fuck! Shit! I think she got my eyes, the furry bitch! Owowow!" The ebony-haired man curled onto his side in agony and continued to curse and damn Gougie to the fiery pits of Hades.

Deciding that he should be concerned for his half-brother's vision, Sora clapped his book shut, set it aside, and then moved to examine Vanitas' eyes.

"You can't say you don't deserve that after messing with a cat named 'Gougie,'" the brunet said.

Meanwhile, the black cat was daintily licking her paw, looking immensely pleased with herself.

* * *

Since Vanitas came and went at his own fancy ("went" here taking on a more… unwilling meaning) it was natural that sometimes Leon was the only one who would answer the door. The mortician tolerated Vanitas for Sora's sake, showed courtesy when needed, but he never really liked the ebony-haired man and his discontent was obvious.

Leon had taken it upon himself to watch Vanitas' every move whenever Sora wasn't present. It was proper judgment on the mortician's part, Vanitas had to admit, and that was the only reason he endured the occasional, uncomfortable feeling of Leon hovering over him.

"I heard you're dating someone," Vanitas said suddenly for the pure sake of breaking the maddening stillness. He kicked his legs idly on the couch and looked over at Leon, who was sitting next to him, stiff as a statue.

"Yes," came the simple answer.

"A doctor?"

"Yes."

"Is he nice?"

"Yes."

"What's his name?"

It took Leon several moments to reply, like he was weighing the consequences of giving Vanitas his boyfriend's name. "…Cloud."

"Hm. Fluffy name for a dude. Let me guess, you're on the bottom, right?" The ebony-haired man grinned.

"No."

The short answers were irritating. Vanitas slouched in his seat. He asked a more open-ended question.

"How's everything going? With him, I mean."

"Well enough," Leon responded.

"Does he know about all the evil, witchcraft and general death-y atmosphere that surrounds you?"

"No. And I intend to keep it that way."

Vanitas let himself sink lower in the couch, preparing to meet the inevitable silence. If Leon didn't want to talk to him, so be it. He just wished the brunet would at least allow him to take a gram of benzo. Or better yet if Leon could swallow the pill himself. God knew the man needed to relax.

"How's Eva?" Leon queried suddenly.

The question threw Vanitas off. Leon was never interested in his family. Sure, he sent a trivial holiday card or two of respect, but never anything too serious. They were never close.

"Mom's fine," Vanitas replied. "Healthy as ever. Still trying to get me to one of those drug addicts anonymous meetings, or whatever they're called."

"You should go—" Leon started to say but the twenty-three-year-old cut him off.

"I don't want to," Vanitas snapped.

"You have a—"

"I already know I have a problem. And I don't want help." The ebony-haired man shot him a dark glare, warning him not to push the subject.

Leon decided to back down from the potential argument. Sora was due home soon and he didn't want his son to arrive in the middle of all that tension.

"She wrote to me once that she moved out of the Badlands," Leon said.

Vanitas took the turn in the conversation with grateful enthusiasm. "Yeah, she moved to the Destiny Islands a few years back, into a nice, little house by the sea. Mom likes it there. She's been nagging me to move in with her." The ebony-haired man sighed.

"I'm sure the sunshine and surf will do you some good," the mortician said.

Vanitas snorted. "Leon, did you not listen to me? She wants me to _move in_ with her. I love her, but I'm twenty-three-years-old, for God's sake! Besides, mere water can melt me, you know that." He smirked.

And then Vanitas was treated to the rare sight of Leon trying very hard not to smile, a feat the twenty-three-year-old had been trying to accomplish for as long as he had known him.

"I suppose you're right," the brunet said, turning away. But Vanitas could see his cheeks rising.

The ebony-haired man straightened his back, happy with himself.

* * *

"Sora, I'm boooooooored…" Vanitas whined. He was lying on his stomach on the brunet's floor, his chin resting on his folded arms. "Let's go see a movie! A gory one with a sexy Asian in it!"

"I apologize, Vanitas, but this assignment's due Monday," Sora said.

"Then do it Sunday! Or better yet, Sunday night! It's Friday! Normal people go out on Friday night!"

The brunet gave him a wry smile. "Some of us don't procrastinate like you."

"I hate English…" the ebony-haired man muttered. "Whooptie-diddly-doo! I can write grammatically correct sentences and I can interpret poetry at the drop of a hat! No one cares!"

"As soon as I finish this last page we can go out."

Vanitas lifted his head. "So… you're saying the sooner you finish the sooner we can leave?"

"Yes." Sora scanned down the last page of George Orwell's _Shooting an Elephant_.

The ebony-haired man sat up and glanced at his half-brother's homework, his amber eyes fixating on the last question Sora needed to do. "The story is ironic because even though Britain is supposedly ruling over Burma, Orwell, who symbolizes Britain with is uniform and gun, is being pushed to kill a now-harmless, innocent-looking elephant by the Burmese people." Vanitas yawned. "How's that?"

"How did you…? You've read this story before?" Sora asked as he began to copy Vanitas' interpretation word-for-word.

"Once, yeah," the twenty-three-year-old said with a lazy wave of his hand and glanced at a half-completed question. "Like, a million years ago. Oh, and the sea of 'yellow faces'" he gestured with his fingers to mimic quotations, "causes Orwell to shoot the elephant. Yeah, actually use quotations. English teachers totally go crazy for that shit. And the story takes place in nineteen-twenties, not nineteen-thirties. Ready to go to the movies now?"

* * *

"Goddammit, you shitty, blond ghost! Gimme back my phone!" Vanitas shouted as he leaped for his cell phone, which was floating several feet above him. He raced up the steps, following the device into the hallway.

Vanitas did not possess the supernatural sight Sora did since both his parents were normal humans, much to Ventus' glee who had the time of his undead life exploiting the ebony-haired man's disability. He tripped Vanitas every chance he got and often levitated the twenty-three-year-old's personal items out of reach just for the fun of it.

"You are so lucky you aren't corporeal, you infernal menace!" The ebony-haired man jumped his highest yet, missing his portable device by mere inches. "You know I might just kill myself so I can kick your spiritual ass!"

"Vanitas, what are you doing?" Sora asked as he climbed up the staircase and peeked into the hallway.

"Getting… my cell… from your sadistic… ghost…!" Vanitas huffed in-between leaps.

Ventus, though the ebony-haired man couldn't hear him, was laughing.

"Would you like me to ask him to give it back to you?" Sora asked.

"No, I... can do this... myself! Dammit!" The twenty-three-year-old cursed as his finger _barely_ grazed the smooth plastic of his phone. The ghost flew down the stairs with Vanitas following after him.

Sora turned to head back into the dining room as well when he saw a small cluster of a dust-gray powder wrapped neatly in plastic. The brunet lifted the small package to eye level to inspect it. It probably fell out of Vanitas' pocket in all that jumping. Deeming it an illegal substance, Sora slipped the drugs into his pocket to destroy them later.

* * *

Vanitas tried exceptionally hard not be stoned, high, or drunk when he visited Sora, but sometimes the man's integrity slipped. The brunet had to admit that, given his half-brother's drug habits, it was a miracle he was drug-free 90% of the times he visited.

Sora always ensured that his door was open for Vanitas, despite what state of mind he was in. He had phoned Quistis the first few times his half-brother stumbled into his house blown out of his mind, and she had coached him on what to do, and what to expect, things like that. By the time December rolled by, Sora was very knowledgeable on how to care for the ebony-haired man on whatever he took.

"Hey, Sora!" Vanitas said, swaying back and forth. He collapsed onto Sora in a heap of giggles.

"Good afternoon, Vanitas," the brunet said. He immediately caught the scent of marijuana on his half-brother's clothes. "What kind did you take this time?"

"I don't remember!" the ebony-haired man said, raising his arms cheerfully.

Sora sighed as he took Vanitas' hand and hauled him inside. "When did you find the time to smoke marijuana on the drive here?" he asked.

"Um…. There was kinda like this traffic jam…" the twenty-three-year-old began, gesturing wildly with his free hand, "…and I remembered that there was a bundle of my stash there and all I kept thinking about was how lonely it looked… so I…" he laughed hysterically. "…I smoked it!"

"Sit here," the brunet said firmly as he took Vanitas to the couch.

"Huh? Why?" the older half-brother asked but he sat down anyway.

"You look tired, you should sit." Sora learned from Quistis and personal experience to explain things in short, succinct sentences.

"Okay," Vanitas gave in easily. The brunet turned on the TV and placed the remote in his half-brother's hands.

"I'm going to get food. I'll be back." Food and television was usually the protocol for a weed-influenced Vanitas.

"Oh… Okay!" the twenty-three-year-old said cheerfully.

Sora quickly came back with an unopened package of vanilla Oreos. Vanitas was prone to paranoia in his current state so he tried not to seem suspicious.

"Oh my God, I fucking love these things…" Vanitas said breezily as he tore open the package and chowed down.

"What brings you to Twilight Town today, Vanitas?" Sora asked cordially as he sat down next to his half-brother.

"Mm. Quistis was trying to make me pay my half for rent so I…" he trailed off as he focused on a spot on the wall.

Sora snapped his fingers. "Vanitas?"

"Huh? What?" Vanitas blinked at him, looking like a lost little boy.

"You were saying about Quistis and rent?"

"Oh… Oh, right! Yeah, she wanted to make me pay, so I ran." He smiled like he had just orchestrated the greatest getaway in all the worlds.

"Quistis is going to be very angry."

"Yeah…." Vanitas dropped his head on Sora's shoulder and giggled. "She's cute when she's angry." He nuzzled the brunet's arm and sighed. The ebony-haired man watched the TV for some time but he wasn't as cheerful as he usually was on drugs.

"Vanitas? Are you okay?" Sora asked.

"M'fine…" Vanitas mumbled, curling next to Sora. It wasn't odd for him to want close contact in this state, but the fact that he was rather glum alerted the brunet. The ebony-haired man had even stopped eating Oreos, which he never did during a trip. In his chemically-induced high, Vanitas could consume Oreos like one would consume oxygen, which was why Sora kept a hefty bulk of them in his house.

"You seem sad," the mortician's son turned to him. "Do you want to eat something else?"

"No, no…" Vanitas shook his head. He sighed heavily again. "Sora, am I good brother?" he asked suddenly.

"Of course you are, Vanitas," Sora said honestly. Sure, the ebony-haired man had several deep-rooted issues, but he cared for Sora and loved to spend time with him, which was all the brunet could ever ask for in a sibling.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"_Really_, really?"

"Well, you could do with a bit less drugs." Sora gave a small smile. "But I like you the way you are, Vanitas. You're more interesting."

The ebony-haired man gave a weak grin in return. "Dad made me promise to take care of you, but you're taking care of me."

"Dad told you to look after me?"

"Mm-hmmm…" Vanitas drew his legs in, leaning his whole weight on Sora. "He said… that's what big brothers do. I don't do that… I'm a terrible brother."

"That's not true, Vanitas. You taught me how to drive, remember? And that time you took me to the club, too. And all those times you helped me with my homework."

Vanitas still looked rather distressed. "Quistis said I was a bad older brother."

"Quistis did?"

The elder nodded slowly.

Sora thought for a moment. It wasn't like Quistis to strike a tender topic. Something must have provoked her. "Were you arguing about something?"

"Yeah."

"About what?"

"The rent. I think."

Ah, now that made sense.

"She was probably just angry," the mortician's son reasoned. "She didn't mean it."

Vanitas seemed comforted by his words. He buried his face into Sora's form and spoke no more. After several minutes, the brunet realized that he had fallen asleep… and that he had to go to the bathroom.

"Vanitas?" Sora began, meaning to ask his half-brother to release him so that he could rush to the toilet, but Vanitas only sighed contently in response and tightened his grip on the brunet's arm. The mortician's son had never seen him look so young, lost, and vulnerable. He didn't have the heart to wake him.

"You're the best big brother anyone could ever ask for," he whispered.

* * *

*****pneumono ultra microscopic silico volcanico niosis. **This is really one word. I had to separate it like this so the stupid document reader could show it. **

**[1]** ...black, 1967 Impala. **For all you who aren't **_Supernatural_** fans, this is the car that Dean Winchester drives. **

**[2] **"Red and mellow [..] and green and sandy and ice cream—" **These lyrics and others like it that contain colors are (more or less) from a song from a play called **_Joseph's Amazing Technicolored Coat _**(which I don't own.) Vanitas continuously sings the lyrics incorrectly, adding, cutting and pasting colors and words. **

**[3]** "And brownies and star and mary and jane and hazel and..." **Keeping consistent with the tune of **_Joseph's Amazing Technicolored Coat, _**Vanitas is referring to drugs, which hints at what he had been taking. "Brownies" refer to hash brownies, which are brownies with weed in them. "Star" refers to LSD blotter acid in a star-shaped design. "Mary" and "Jane" together make mary jane and refer to another term form marijuana. "hazel" is street-talk for heroin, according to the internet. Yeah, I was looking up street slang for drugs to write this part.  
**

**[4] **"The only thing to do it jump OH-VER the moooooon!" **From the song**, _Over the Moon, _**from the play/movie, **_Rent_** (which I also do not own.)  
**

**[5]**"Clean and clear and pure and rare and... and..." **From the song **_Zydrate Anatomy_** in **_Repo! The Genetic Opera _**(which I do not own also.)**

**[6] **"To the moon and back." **Not sure if this is original, but I first heard this line in the movie, **_Black Swan_**. Which is a BADASS MOVIE. You should all watch it. GO.**

**_A bit more about Vanitas: _I honestly consider him my most complicated character. I love how I characterized him. Vanitas loves Sora a lot, there's no mistake about that. But it's obvious that he's got some deep-rooted problems with addiction, which comes from two things Vanitas can't stand: being bored and thinking hard. Drugs are an easy escape from those two things. (I also hope I wrote addiction part well and I'm sorry if I didn't. I've never seen addiction personally.) But the craving for drugs runs deep inside Vanitas, more deeply than his love for Sora, and I hope from that part I wrote while Vanitas was totally tripping on drugs shows you that his addiction DOES torment him at times. But Vanitas can't get out of it. In that way, he's a very sad character.  
**

**AND THAT'S IT, you guys. This story's done. I thank everyone who stuck by this story even after I finished the Epilogue chapter. You guys are awesome and I am very grateful to all of you. I adore this story, and you have no idea how much joy I feel when you tell me the same thing because I poured a lot of what I loved into this like my freakish personality, my love for the dark arts, mysteries, monsters, drugs, and young, pure passion. **

**Thank you so much, _copycat-capycot_ for betaing. Seriously, I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough. :) I hope you'll continue to be my grammar police for as long as I write fanfiction! Hahaha.  
**

**Thank you everyone who was scared when Riku was scared, who freaked out when Sora smiled one of his scary smiles, who cheered when Sora and Riku first kissed, who giggled when Leon first met Cloud, who giggled when Sora first met Sephiroth, who tolerated my completely OOC'd Vanitas, who felt sad when they watched Riku leave for Neverland, and who celebrated when Riku wrote that he was coming back. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. (It sounds like I'm going to die or something tomorrow and never write fanfiction again, but I'm not. Hahaha.)  
**

**—Rock on, you guys. **

**_|Corrosive Moon|_  
**


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